0 0001
MAM
muni
MAI APR 2 8 1993
DATE DUE
MAY 3
1990
Demco, Inc. 38-293
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB, LL.D.
EDITED BY
t T. K. PAGE, C.H., I.ITT.H.
E. CAPPS, PH.I>., IX.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, MTT.D.
OVID
TRISTJA EX PONTO
Laeta fere laetus cecini, cano tristtci trlstls.
P. iii. 9. 35.
OVID
i
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION
TRISTIA • EX PONTO
•r
MV
ARTHUR LESLIE WHEELER
AUJMNAE I'HOFF.SSOR OF 1.AT1N
HHVN MAW It COM.KUK
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETPS
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD
MCM XXXIX
J
First printed 1924
Reprinted 1939
Printed in Great Britain
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .,...«» VJ1
TlllSTIA
BOOK I ,,.,••• 2
158
BOOK II
BOOK III ....-•
BOOK IV ...•••
BOOK V ..,..-»
Ex PONTO
HOOK I ...••••
BOOK II ...••••
BOOK III
BOOK IV •••••••
INDEX ,...«»•• 491
INTRODUCTION
THE works of Ovid himself, and especially the auto-
biography (T. iv. 10), supply most of the material
for a sketch of his life. His fame, however, caused
him to be mentioned often by later writers, and
these, taken together, add not a little to the in-
formation derived from his own poems.
His full name was Publius Ovidius Naso, and he
was born on March twentieth, 43 B.C., at Sulmo, the
chief town of the Paeligni, about ninety miles by
road east of Rome. The family was of old equestrian
rank, and inscriptions prove that the name Ovidius
was common only in the region of Ovid's birthplace.
In Sulmo, now Sulmona, the tradition of the poet
still flourishes. The townspeople point out to the
infrequent tourist his statue in the court of the
Collegio Ovidio, the chief school of the town, and
the remains of his villa, the Villa Ovidio, on the slopes
of a neighbouring mountain. The main street of
the town, the Corso Ovidio, preserves his name,
and the letters S.M.P.E. (" Sulmo mihi patria est,"
T. iv. 10. 3) are inscribed on the fasades of monu-
ments and at the head of public documents. In
folk-lore also and popular song his name survives.
But though the statue is mediaeval, though the
ruins are probably not connected with him, and the
traditions are fancy, the beautiful country on which
vii
INTRODUCTION
Ovid must have looked is true to his description.
Sulmona lies in one of the loveliest vales of Italy, sur-
rounded by towering mountains and watered, as
Ovid himself says, by cold streams. As one views
it from the mountain slopes the valley, carefully
tilled and dotted with vineyards and fruit trees, is
like a vast garden. Here lay those paternal fields
of which the poet speaks, and here he passed the
years of his boyhood.
Ovid's father, like the father of Horace, was
ambitious for his sons and destined them for an
oratorical career. While they were still very young
Ovid and his brother, who was exactly one year
older than the poet, were taken to Rome to receive
a proper training. The brother displayed a decided
gift for pleading, but Ovid found the legal grind
distasteful. He tried to conform to his father's
practical advice but the inborn impulse was too
strong. " Whatever I tried to write," he says,
44 was verse," and the quaint anecdote told in one
of the late Lives probably hits off the situation very
well. Once when Ovid was being chastised by his
angry father, says the Life, the squirming boy
cried out (in verse !), " Parce mihi ! numquam versi-
ficabo, pater ! "
But though " he lisped in numbers," he neverthe-
less persisted half-heartedly in his preparation for
a practical career until he held certain minor offices
which were preliminary to the quaestorship. He
became a triumvir capitalis, i.e. one of the board of
three officials who had charge of prisons and execu-
tions and possessed judicial powers in petty cases.
Ovid was probably not over twenty-one at this
time. He also speaks of having been a member of
viii
INTRODUCTION
the centumviral court (which dealt with questions
of inheritance) and of having served as a single
judge, i.e. as a sort of referee in private lawsuits.
As a triumvir he was directly in line for the
quaestorship and seems to have had a right to
quaestorial privileges, but his tastes and frail con-
stitution led him to renounce a public career.
Ovid's thorough education under such distinguished
teachers as the rhetoricians Arellius Fuscus and
Porcius Latro was not wasted, although it was not
applied to the end which his hard-headed father
had urged. Rhetoric and literature formed the
major part of the training of those who were qualify-
ing themselves for public life, and the young poet,
as we learn from Seneca the Elder, became a brilliant
declaimer. Poetry was much studied in the rhe-
torical schools of the day, and the training which
Ovid received undoubtedly laid the foundation of
that wide familiarity with myth and literature
which he displays in his work. In fact Seneca tells
us that Ovid transferred to his own verse many of
the pointed remarks of his teacher Latro. Even
his legal training was not entirely wasted, for there
are traces of it, in his work.
Ovid studied at Athens, as Horace and many
other young Romans had done, and travelled in
Sicily and in Asia Minor. It is probable that his
sojourn in Athens occurred while he was still a
student, but it is not certain that the other journeys
belong to the same period.
Even before his education was finished he had
won fame as a poet of love. He was giving public
recitations of his Amores, he tells us, when his
" beard had been cut but once or twice " (T. iv.
INTRODUCTION
10. 55 f.). Undoubtedly the popularity of these
youthful poems did much to establish the conviction
which he often expresses that his bent was erotic
elegy ; he considered himself the lineal successor
of Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius, and posterity
has accepted him at his word. Thus the foundation
of that fame which he was destined to deplore so
bitterly was laid in his early youth.
In these youthful days Ovid made the acquaintance
of many poets. His relations with Vergil and
Tibullus were apparently not intimate, but he was
only twenty-four when these poets died (19 B.C.),
and it is probable that for some years before that
date both had been in poor health and had seldom
been seen in Rome. Ovid admired Horace but
does not assert that he knew that poet personally.
Propertius, however, he knew well, and he mentions
him, together with Aemilius Macer, Ponticus, and
Bassus, as a member of his own circle. He names
besides a large number of fellow poets, many of
whom were friends. To us they are hardly more
than names, but they serve to illustrate the
breadth of Ovid's literary interests, for these men
worked in all departments of poetic composition.
Ovid was always a generous critic, but in his remarks
during his exile about these contemporaries there
is the additional reason for generosity that he
naturally wished to speak well of anybody who
might help him.
Apart from literary men, professional or dilettanti,
Ovid had a very wide acquaintance with Roman
society in general. He came from a country town
and he was not noble, but his rank was inherited
and his fortune was considerable. With these ad-
INTRODUCTION
vantages it was easy for a man of his brilliant talent
and agreeable personality to know everybody worth
knowing, and the poems from exile contain the
names of many statesmen, officials, and soldiers —
fewer, certainly, than he must have known since he is
careful not to name any to whom seeming connexion
with an exile might have brought offence. More-
over, many of those whom he must have known
in his youth had died before the period of his exile,
and these are mentioned as a rule only when they
are connected in some way with the living to whom
he made his appeals.
To the members of Rome's great families Ovid
stood rather in the relation of a client to patrons,
although this relation did not preclude intimacy.
Among these patrons the most distinguished man
was Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, the states-
man, general, and orator, whose house was the centre
of a literary circle in which the most prominent
member was Tibullus. To this circle Ovid also
undoubtedly belonged. Messalla died not long
before Ovid was exiled, perhaps in the very year of
his exile (A.D. 8), and he had probably been in-
capacitated by illness for several years before his
death. It was Ovid's appeal to the great man's
sons that led him to mention the father. To the
house of Messalla he had been devoted from his
earliest years, and Messalla himself had been the
first to encourage him to publish his verse — un-
doubtedly some of those erotic poems which later
helped to ruin the poet. Messalla was, in Ovid's
phrase, " the guide of his genius," and the poet
wrote a tribute to him at his death.
Messalla had been one of Augustus* right-hand
xi
INTRODUCTION
the same station in life as himself, and many of
these are named in the Pontic Epistles. Since at
the time Ovid was writing the Tristia he did not
venture to name his friends, the question arises
whether it is possible to identify any of the un-
named recipients of the Tristia with friends who are
named in the Pontic Epistles.1 There are seventeen
poems of the Tristia which are addressed to friends
or patrons. Three of these, as the tone shows, are
addressed to patrons, i.e. to men who were superior
to Ovid in rank, twelve to friends of his own status
or of such status that they were at least not his
superiors, while in the case of two the tone supplies
no good evidence for placing them in one class
rather than the other. Now Ovid asserts several
times that " only two or three " of his friends
showed themselves really faithful at the time when
disaster befell him (T. i. 5. 33, " vix duo tresve " ; cf.
Hi. 5. 10 ; v. 4. 36, etc.). Examination of the
Pontic Epistles shows that these few faithful ones
were probably Brutus, Atticus, Celsus, and possibly
Carus. To these we should add his patron-friend
Cotta Maximus. By comparing the Pontic Epistles
in which these men are addressed or named with
the seventeen Tristia we may assign to Brutus
7\ iii. 4 (cf. P.\. 1, iii. 9, iv. 6) ; to Atticus T. v. 4
(cf. P. ii. 4 and 7) ; to Celsus T. i. 5, iii. 6 (cf. P. i.
9) ; to Carus T. iii. 5 (cf. P. iv. 13) ; to Cotta Maximus
T. iv. 5, v. 9 (cf. P. i. 5 and 9, ii. 3 and 8, iii. 2 and 5,
iv. 16. 41 ff.) ; to Messalinus T. iv. 4 (cf. P. i. 7,
and ii. 3). The reproach, T. i. 8, is very possibly
addressed to Macer (cf. P. ii. 10). Even if these
identifications are accepted there remain eight
1 Cf. especially Graeber (see Bibliog.).
xiv
INTRODUCTION
poems whose recipients have not been satisfactorily
identified. Of these eight six (T. i. 7, iv. 7, v. 6,
7, 12, 13) are addressed to men who were apparently
friends, two (T. i. 9, iii. 14) are uncertain, though
the tone of T. i. 9 is perhaps better suited to a young
man of rank, and that of T. iii. 14 to a poet-friend
of greater age than Ovid.
Numerous other friends and acquaintances —
poets, rhetoricians, officials, soldiers — appear in the
Pontic Epistles, but among them there is nobody
whom we may regard as the probable recipient of
any poem among the Tristia. About some of them
we know only what Ovid tells us, about others we
can glean a few meagre facts from other sources.
It is particularly unfortunate that, with the exception
of Cotta Maximus, the poet's best friends, Celsus,
Atticus, Brutus, and Cams, are known only from Ovid.
All efforts to identify them with men of the same
names mentioned elsewhere have proved unavailing.
There is no good evidence that Ovid had ever
been intimate with any member of the imperial
household. The approval of the Emperor to which
he alludes (T. ii. 89 and 98, cf. 542) consisted merely
in allowing Ovid to retain his rank as a knight. In
his references to Augustus the poet assumes the
tone of an abject suppliant appealing to a deity
immeasurably removed. Even if there had been
any former intimacy it would have been difficult to
harmonize it with such an attitude as this and it
would have been carefully suppressed. The refer-
ences to Tiberius and his son Drusus, to Germanicus
and his sons, permit the same general inference :
that Ovid had probably never been intimate with
any of them. The character of Germanicus was
XV
INTRODUCTION
so affable and kindly that if Ovid had ever
known him well one might expect a reference to
the fact. But the passages in which Germanicus
is addressed or mentioned show that Ovid's hopes
in this direction were based upon the intercessions
of mutual friends — Salanus (P. ii. 5), Sextus Pompey
(P. iv. 5), Suillius (P. iv. 8), etc.
The method of appeal to the Empress Livia
Augusta is similar. Ovid hoped to influence her
through his wife and through Marcia, wife of
Paullus Fabius Maximus, who was Augusta's close
friend. Another possible approach to Augusta lay
in the fact that Ovid's wife knew intimately the
Emperor's maternal aunt, Atia Minor. This seems
to have been the only real link between the poet's
household and the palace.
At the time when Ovid was ordered into exile
(A.D. 8) the only members of his immediate family
who were in Rome were his wife and step-daughter.
His own daughter, who must have been the daughter
of his first or second wife, had married a second
time and was absent in Libya, but we know neither
her name nor that of her husband at the time. His
only brother had died years before when he had
just turned twenty, i.e. in 24 B.C. Both of the poet's
parents also had passed away, his father at the
advanced age of ninety.
Ovid himself was married three times. He speaks
of his first wife whom he married when he was
" almost a boy," as *' unworthy and useless." The
marriage lasted but a short time and may have
ended in divorce. The second wife was " blame-
less," but this marriage also was broken off by
death or divorce. The poet does not tell us the
xvi
INTRODUCTION
names of these ladies, but he indicates that one of
them came from Falerii (Am. in. 13. 1). Ovid's third
wife was " from the house " of the Fabii (P. i. 2.
136), but it is not certain that her name, which
Ovid does not give, was Fabia. She may have
been a poor relative (or a relative who had lost her
parents) who had lived in the protection of the
Fabian household. She was a widow (or divorced ?)
with one daughter, Perilla, when Ovid married her,
but the marriage seems to have been childless.1
Upon her devolved the care of the poet's property
after he was exiled, and upon her efforts he rested
in large measure his hopes of pardon. Many
passages bear witness to his tender love for her ;
lie draws a most affecting picture of their mutual
despair at parting, and if at times after years of
exile he became somewhat peevish, we must pity
rather than condemn. The poor lady seems to have
been always faithful to his interests and no doubt
she did all within her power to secure a mitigation
of his sentence.
But neither family connexions nor influential friends
were able to save Ovid from his fate. After more
than thirty years of popularity, at the age of fifty,
he was suddenly ordered to leave that Rome which
was the very breath of life to men of his stamp
and take up his abode on the very edge of the
wilderness in a little town of which he had probably
never heard. The order emanated from the authority
of the Emperor and was never brought before the
Senate or a court. Ovid was not called an exul>
1 Perilla later married Suillius (P. iv. 8. 11 and 90).
Some scholars believe that Perilla is a pseudonym and that
she was not connected with Ovid.
xvii
INTRODUCTION
but was " relegated " (rekgatus).1 Relegatio was
milder than the exilium of the late republic in that
the poet's property was not confiscated and his civic
rights were not taken from him, but it was harsher,
in Ovid's case, in that he was ordered to stay in
one designated locality. The exul of the republican
period might wander where he would provided he
kept beyond a prescribed radius from Rome. On the
other hand, to judge from Cicero's case, the friends
of an exile of that period subjected themselves to
penalties if they aided him, whereas Ovid's friends
freely assisted him and wrote to him. Even the
fear of being publicly known as his friends, which
prevailed at the time he was writing the Tristia, had
vanished from the minds of all but one or two when
the Pontic Epistles were written, and Ovid himself
states openly (P. iii. 6. 11 f.) that the Emperor
forbade neither mention of him nor correspondence
with him.
The sins which led Augustus to banish Ovid have
been endlessly discussed. The poet himself refers
to them again and again, but his references are so
vague that it is impossible to arrive at the whole
truth, and of course the lips of his contemporaries
were sealed. He was constantly hoping that his
penalty might be revoked or at least mitigated by
permission to change his place of exile, and he left
no stone unturned to effect one or the other of these
results. If we had his prose correspondence with
friends in Rome and elsewhere — a correspondence
to which he frequently refers — it would be easier
to solve the problem, but in the poems from exile
we have only such evidence as could be made public
1 T. ii. 131 ff. ; iv. 4. 45 f. : 9. 1 1 ff. ; 5. 7 ; P. ii. 7. 56.
xviii
INTRODUCTION
without injuring the exile's chances of pardon or
involving his friends. In weighing this evidence it
is necessary to allow for a double distortion — an over-
emphasis on the charges which could be publicly
argued and a corresponding reticence about those
which it seemed impolitic to discuss in public.
Moreover, the poet based his hope of pardon very
largely on confession of guilt ; he threw himself on
the mercy of the court which consisted, in this case,
of a single judge, the Emperor. Naturally, there-
fore, he did not argue his case as completely as he
could have done if he had been free to use' all the
arguments at his disposal. He was aware that the
mere presentation of evidence could avail him
nothing. There was no appeal from the judge's
verdict, but the judge himself might be induced
to relent.
Ovid asserts that there were two charges against
him, a poem and a mistake (T. ii. 207, " duo crimina,
carmen et error") of which the poem was the first
in time. In many passages he makes the same
distinction between his sins, and it will be advisable,
even though they may have been connected, to
discuss them separately in order to determine the
poet's own attitude.
The poem was the Ars Amatoria which was pub-
lished c. 1 B.C. This Art, as the poet often calls
it, is no more immoral than other erotic works,
among which Ovid mentions those of Tibullus
and Propertius, but it is explicitly didactic. It
gathers up and systematizes the- erotic precepts
which had gradually been developed (largely under
Greek influence) by the Roman poets, especially
Gallus, Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid himself. It
INTRODUCTION
taught love explicitly, and Ovid became known as
the chief erotic expert (pr acceptor amoris). Erotic
teaching had appeared often enough in Greek and
Latin, but there had been no handbook like this.
The Art was the culmination, the shining example,
for it presented the subject as a didactic system,
and it was this aspect of the book, not the erotic
content per se, that angered Augustus. In his eyes
and in the eyes of all those who hoped to regenerate
Roman morals Ovid was the arch offender, and the
Art was his chief sin. When the poet was exiled
the Art was expelled from the public libraries and
placed under a ban.
The charge of pernicious influence through the
medium of the Art could be publicly discussed, and
since Ovid presents his case in the second book of
the Tristia, not to mention many other briefer
passages, the discussion need not be repeated here.
It is sufficient to say that he denied any intention
of immoral influence, proving that the Art was
explicitly restricted to affairs with courtesans, and
that he was no more blameworthy than countless
other writers if readers had made a perverse use
of his work. He complained truly that he was the
only erotic poet who had ever been punished for his
compositions. In view of ancient standards in such
matters it must be admitted that, so far as the Art
was concerned, he was harshly treated. But what-
ever the merits of the case the poet bitterly regretted
that he had ever written erotic verse, even at times
that he had ever attempted verse of any kind.
Augustus had condemned the Art, and Ovid had
perforce to admit that he had sinned.
In Ovid's eyes then the Art was the earliest cause
INTRODUCTION
of his exile and an important cause, but he says that
there was a later cause which " had injured him
more " (P. iii. 3. 72). Since the latter could not
be discussed publicly, the poet speaks of it in very
general terms. It was not a crime (scelus), not
illegal, but rather a fault (culpa, vitium) which he
admitted to be wrong (peccalum, delictum, noxa).
He had not been guilty wittingly, but through
chance (fortuna, casus). There had been no criminal
action (facinus) on his part, but he had laboured
under a misunderstanding, he had blundered (error).
He had been stupid (stultus), thoughtless (imprudens,
non sapiens), over ingenuous (simplicitas) ; he had
been ashamed (pudor) and afraid (timar, timidus)?
From the passages in which he speaks most fully
of this fault we infer that the affair with which it
was connected had a considerable history, or at
least that a full account of it would have been a
long one. It began with a misunderstanding on
Ovid's part of something that he had seen by chance
(T. iii. 6. 27 if. ; ii. 103 ff.), but he must soon have
comprehended its import, for he began to be afraid.
He harboured it as a secret when advice might have
saved him.
He speaks of that which his eyes had seen as
something wrong, but not as a crime. He had not
at first considered it to be wrong, and perhaps his
later confession that it was wrong is due to the fact
that he was punished for it ; at least confession of
1 For these terms cf. T. i. 2. 100; iv. 4. 37 and 43 if . ;
P. ii. 9. 71 ; T. i. 2. 64; iv. 8. 49 ; 4. 44 ; P. i. 7. 41 ; ii. 9.
72; T. ii. 105 f. ; i. 2. 98 ff. ; ii. 104; P. ii. 2. 17; T. i. 5.
42 ; iii. 6. 30 ; P. ii. 2. 17 ; T. iii. 6. 27 ; P. i. 6. 21 ; T. iv.
4.38; iii. 6. 11 ff.; P. ii. C. 7.
xxi
INTRODUCTION
guilt was in this matter, as in the case of the Ars
Amatoria, a necessary part of his appeal to Augustus.1
It was necessary also for him to represent his friends,
however sympathetic they were, as siding with
Augustus, and so we hear that Cotta Maximus,
Messalinus, and Graecinus condemned or reproved
the poet's sins ; they believed that Ovid had sinned
but that his sin was rather foolish than criminal.
The thing was an offence, a wound to Augustus,
and he had used harsh words about it, but there is
no proof that the wound concerned his private
affairs. In fact the sin did not, according to Ovid,
involve others but had ruined the poet alone. He
advances his original error as a partial excuse, not
as a defence, for his sin. This is his only plea, but it
is fairly clear that if the question could have been
argued he would have made a strong defence.
What had Ovid seen ? Why, after he realized its
import, had he been afraid to reveal his knowledge ?
To the second question one may answer that he
was afraid of that which actually befell him, the
Emperor's anger, for he must have been aware
that he was disliked by Augustus. But to the first
question there is with our present evidence no
satisfactory answer although it has afforded a
tempting field for surmise. Nevertheless such
evidence as we have makes it possible to define
approximately the nature of the thing, to say at
least in some degree what it was not, and so to
eliminate certain favourite hypotheses.
Ovid characterizes the affair as no crime, and we
may accept this statement because he would not
have ventured to misname it nor could he have
1 T. ii. 134,209, 133.
xxii
INTRODUCTION
misunderstood it if it had been criminal. Ovid
himself could not discuss it because the case had been
closed by the Emperor's verdict, but his statement
is supported by the fact that he alludes to it many
times without rebuke, that everybody knew it, and
that the Emperor made no attempt to hush it up.
It seems, therefore, very improbable that the evil
of which he became cognizant was anything so
heinous as the profligacy of the younger Julia, who
was banished at about the same time as the poet.
Ovid refers, it is true, to his fault as an offence
against Augustus, as a wound," an " injury " to
him, but such phrases need not imply that the
offence concerned the imperial household. Any
offence against the state, or that which Augustus
regarded as the interest of the state, was an injury
to the ruler.
Augustus's own attitude, as shown by Ovid, in-
dicates that the poet's sin was not a very heavy one.
To say nothing of the comparatively mild conditions
of Ovid's relegatio, which he himself urges as
a proof of the Emperor's estimate, the poet and
his friends were allowed to correspond freely, and
he was allowed to publish poetry appealing openly
to Augustus and to many others. It is plain that
Augustus and after his death Tiberius, who con-
tinued so religiously the policies of his predecessor,
were quite satisfied merely to have Ovid out of the
way. Ovid's fault was serious enough to serve as
a pretext, that is all. It was the exciting cause of
his exile, and so he can speak of it as having " injured
him more " than the Ars Amatoria, but the latter —
all his erotic verse in fact — which had given him so
great and unsavoury a reputation as the purveyor
xxiii
INTRODUCTION
of wanton titbits, was the predisposing cause. His
fault must have been something that enhanced the
poet's pernicious influence by lowering his personal
reputation. With the Emperor it was the final
straw. Without it Ovid might never have been exiled,
for he was turning to more dignified work, the
Metamorphoses, the Fasti, but he could not escape
the notoriety of that earlier work which was still so
popular with his " host of readers.
Augustus himself was no prude. He had a weak-
ness for mimes and he liked his little joke. It was
not the content of the Ars Amatoria but rather its
pernicious influence that angered him. If that
work had merely been the talk of a day it would
be impossible to understand why the Emperor
allowed eight or nine years to pass before punishing
its author. Everything indicates, however, that
time only increased the vogue of the book, and when
at an age that should have brought him wisdom
the poet made that final stupid blunder, the Emperor
became convinced that the question involved more
than mere literature ; it had passed into the sphere
of public policy. In brief, from the point of view
of Augustus, the ruler and reformer, Ovid had been
a nuisance for many years and had given fresh proof
of his incorrigibility by making a fool of himself.
The thing was too much. " I am sick of this fellow,"
he decided. " Naviget ! "*•
1 Schanz (see Bibliog.) gives a good resum£ of modern
discussions. Boissier connects Ovid's culpa with the intrigue
of the younger Ju^ia and Silanus, and this has been the
favourite hypothesis. More recently S. Reinach (Rev. de
Philol. xxxiv., 1910, p. 347) and Nemethy (see Bibliog.) have
tried to show that Ovid was implicated in the affair of
Agrippa Postumus, Augustus's grandson, who was banished
xxiv
INTRODUCTION
When the blow fell Ovid was in Elba, probably
in the suite of his friend Cotta Maximus, for the
latter heard of Ovid's sin, and Ovid has described
the interview in which he stammeringly confessed to
Cotta that the report was true. This must have
been in the summer or early autumn of A.D. 8. Ovid
returned to Rome and arranged his affairs as best
he could. In his despair he contemplated suicide,
but he was not of the stuff of which suicides are
made. Moreover, he cherished hopes of pardon,
and he prevailed on his wife to remain behind to
work for this object. His parting from her and
the events of his dismal journey are described in
Tristia i., all of which, save possibly the proem, was
written before he reached Tomis. The account of
the journey does not begin until he has boarded
ship, at which time we find him storm-tossed on the
Adriatic, and so it is uncertain whether he followed
the Appian Way to Capua and its extension to
Brundisium, the customary route for travellers
bound to the East, or whether he embarked at
some port nearer Rome, for example, Ostia. At
any rate he sailed to Corinth, crossed the Isthmus
from Lechacum to Cenchreae and boarded a second
ship which carried him to Imbros and Samothrace.
This ship completed her voyage to Tomis, but the
poet preferred to cross from Samothrace to Tempyra
near the Thracian coast and so to finish his journey
not long before Ovid. The translator, after a fresh study of
all the evidence, agrees with Boissier (and Ehwald) that the
chief cause of exile was the Ars amat. and that the culpa
merely gave Augustus a pretext, but he differs from Boissier
as to the nature of the culpa. The evidence shows that the
culpa could not have been in itself anything very serious.
XXV
INTRODUCTION
by land. He must have journeyed slowly, for he
received news from home on the way, and it is
probable that he did not cross the Thracian mountains
to Tomis until the spring or summer of A.D. 9, since
he alludes to no discomfort from cold, although after
his arrival in Tomis this is a hardship on which he
dwells insistently.
Tomis ! Outlandish name ! With what bitter-
ness the storm-tossed poet speaks of " the Tomitans,
situate in some corner of the world " ! We cannot
expect from a poet, much less from an exiled
poet, an adequate description of the town. It was
his interest to paint a gloomy picture. And yet if
we allow for his exaggeration of the hardships
there are details enough with which to form a
fairly good conception of the poet's hostelry of
calamity.
Tomis l (the modern Constantza) lay on an elevated
and rocky part of the coast, about sixty-five miles
south-west of the nearest mouth of the Danube, in
that part of Roumania now called the Dobrudja.
The townspeople were a mixed crowd of half-breed
Greeks and full-blooded barbarians. The latter
were in the majority and were chiefly of Getic,
hence Indo-European, stock. They dressed in skins,
wore their hair and beards long, and went about
armed. They were fine horsemen and experts with
the bow. Apart from trade the chief occupation
of the region was grazing, for border warfare made
agriculture difficult. It was a rude community.
Latin was almost never heard and the people spoke
some hybrid Greek, but Getic and Sarmatian were
1 Tomis, not Tomi, is indicated by the manuscripts and is
the older form of the name, cf. Pick {see Bibliog.).
xxvi
INTRODUCTION
so much in use that Ovid was forced to learn these
languages. He even wrote a poem in Getic.
The coastal region is often called by Ovid
" Pontus " after the Pontus Euxinus, the modern
Black Sea, which washed its shores. Sometimes
he speaks of it as Pontus Laevus or Sinister,
" Pontus -on -the -Left " (as one enters the Black
Sea), to distinguish it from the kingdom of Pontus
in Asia Minor, but at times these epithets seem
to mean " ill-omened." Tomis itself was an ancient
colony of Miletus and was in ancient as in modern
times an important port. Because of the silt
in the outlets of the Danube much freight passed
to and from the river, in ancient times, by
way of Tomis. The country about the town is
in general flat arid treeless, often marshy. Ovid
often speaks of this and also of the bad water
^hich, together with the rough fare, may have caused
the frequent illnesses which he mentions. He
suffered from indigestion, fever, insomnia, " an
aching side." He dwells on the extreme cold.
Snow lies all winter, the Danube and the sea are
frozen hard, even wine freezes in the jar arid is
served in pieces ! The hair of the barbarians
" tinkles with ice." This picture, as modern evidence
proves, is not overdrawn. Although the latitude
of Tomis is about the same as that of Florence, the
winters are very severe. The temperature in the flat
country sinks at times to 20° or even 30° below zero
(Fahrenheit), and the Danube is sometimes ice-
bound for three months. Violent winds, as Ovid
also observed, are prevalent.
Since Tomis was a border town it was subject to
raids by the wild tribes from across the Danube,
INTRODUCTION
and this constant peril was in Ovid's eyes one of
his worst misfortunes. The shepherds wore helmets
as they tended their flocks. When the barbarians
swooped down they destroyed or carried away
everything that could not be brought within the
walls. Poisoned arrows fell thickly within the town
and even the elderly poet was called upon to aid
in the defence. We are reminded of the tales of
colonial America and the warfare of the settlers
against the savages.
Such is the picture that Ovid paints. No wonder
that he regarded Tomis as " the worst element in
his cruel lot," for it would be difficult to conceive
of a place more distasteful to a man of his type.
And yet even in his account there are some bright
spots. The people were rough but they were kind to
him. They realized how hard it was for such a man
to live a virtual prisoner among them. They
honoured him by a decree exempting him from
taxation and they listened sympathetically when he
told them of his appeals to be restored to his native
land. For all this the poet was grateful, and when
his wild hosts became aware of his attacks upon
their land and showed their indignation, he was
almost in despair. They could hardly be expected
to accept the distinction that he made between
his gratitude to them and his detestation of their
country.
There was nothing of Roman sternness about
Ovid. Physically he was not strong and, even if
the portrait which he draws of himself in exile —
his emaciation, his pallor and whitening hair, his
frequent illnesses — is exaggerated, it is clear that
he was not one who cared for the strenuous life.
INTRODUCTION
His tastes were all against it. He did not care for
exercises in arms, though he professes that he had
to don a helmet to aid in the defence of Tomis.
Archery, the favourite sport of the barbarians, had
no attractions for him. In fact the only form of
outdoor occupation that he cared for was gardening.
This he had practised in Italy and he would have
liked to continue it at Tomis if such a thing had
been possible. He liked the ordinary inactive amuse-
ments, dice-playing, etc., as little as he did physical
exercises. "Games," he said, "are wont to waste
that precious thing, our time ! "
He was abstemious. Eating and drinking as mere
pleasures did not appeal to him ; " You know," he
writes to Flaccus, " that water is almost rny only
drink." In his younger days his heart had not
been impregnable to Cupid's darts, although he
asserts that no scandal had ever been attached to
his name, but advancing years and the sorrows of
exile had removed this susceptibility.
There was little of the philosopher or the scientist
in Ovid and nothing at all of the explorer. What
a chance he had during his long residence at Tomis
to study the geography and ethnology of that almost
unknown region ! What a chance for excursions
into the wild country and among tribes still wilder !
Probably such excursions would not have been
contrary to the decree of relegatio. But he was
not a Varro or a Pliny, and his only attempt at
science (aside from his effort to explain the freezing
of the Pontus) seems to have been his Halieutica, a
disquisition, of which only a fragment remains, on
the fishes and animals of the Pontus. Nowhere in
all his verses is there an adequate description of the
c xxix
INTRODUCTION
many interesting barbarian tribes with which he
became so familiar. Such details as he gives are
almost always part of his effort to paint his lot in
the darkest colours.
But we cannot reproach him for the lack of qualities
which he did not possess. His interests were in that
humanity whose life centred in the great metropolis.
His feeling was that of Catullus, " that is my^settled
abode, there do I pluck the blooms of life," or of
Cicero, " I am gripped by a marvellous love of the
city/' But unlike his two great predecessors he
was forced to doubt whether he was ever to behold
that loved city again. No wonder that the longing
to return became with him an obsession, no wonder
that to a man of his tastes Tomis was the hardest
element in his fate.
A few congenial companions would have greatly
lightened the tedium of his exile. He had been
a brilliant declaimer and undoubtedly an equally
brilliant conversationalist. If there had only been
some friend with whom he could have whiled away
the lagging hours in those endless talks which he
recalls so pleasantly ! But he was forced to talk
with his friends by letter and in imagination. Cut
off thus from his friends and from everything that
he held dear, unable to find or to create for himself
any real interest in his surroundings, he found his
chief solace in writing. Poetry had ruined him,
but he could not lightly abandon his very nature
and the practice of a lifetime. He was a born poet
and he felt an irresistible impulse to write. Poetic
composition not only comforted him and hastened
the dragging hours, but although it had injured
him he had hoped that, perhaps, like Telephus of
XXX
INTRODUCTION
old, he would be healed by the very weapon that
had wrought him harm ; he sought no fame, but
poetry was the best means in his power of making
a personal effort in his own behalf. Therefore he
wrote, and the verse of this period, apart from its
references to others, throws interesting lights upon
his own work and his own methods.
Ovid was a very careful artist, severe in self-
criticism, although he was a generous critic of
others. Occasionally he speaks of hurried com-
position, but his habit was quite the opposite. He
toiled over his work, and his verse smells of the lamp.
Before his exile he had followed the practice, common
at the time, of reading his poetry to discerning
friends in order to profit by their advice, and to
revise it carefully before publication. In Tomis he
complains that there was nobody to whom he could
read it ; he had to be his own critic, and he shrank
from the task of revision. Moreover, all the condi-
tions favourable for good work were lacking — an
untroubled mind, peaceful surroundings, abundant
books, the stimulus of an audience (P. iv. 2. 29 ff.).
He has so little opportunity to speak Latin that he
fears lest barbarisms creep into his work. His
talent is broken and the stream of his inspiration is
dried up. He recognizes the faults of his work
and admits that it is poor stuff, not better than
his lot. Again and again he asks indulgence for it.
Poetry written by such a man amid such surround-
ings was inevitably monotonous and aroused criticism.
The almost unvarying sadness of its tone, the con-
stant repetition of the same appeal were criticized.
He admits the charge ; his poetry is conditioned by
his lot and by his purpose, and he regards possible
xx xi
INTRODUCTION
advantage to himself as preferable to fame ; if he
could be restored to his home he would be gay as
of old, though he would never again attempt wanton
verse .l
And yet, although his work of necessity fell short of
his ideals, he was conscious that it was good enough
to be read, for the host of readers of which he boasts
must have included many who were not interested
solely in the work of his happier years. His great
reputation also must have interested many in the
poetry of a fallen idol, even if from mere curiosity
to discover how that idol comported himself in
exile. He affirms, moreover, that to be named in
his verse was to receive fame. This affirmation was
not mere convention, nor was it entirely for the
purpose of propaganda that he published these
poems. He believed that they were worth pub-
lishing. And he was right. They are too pervasively
gloomy, although the reader will find not a few
exceptions to the rule, and their purpose is too
obviously pressed. Nevertheless as human docu-
ments they possess great interest in spite of the
author's weakness and slavish fawning.
Their chief interest, however, lies in their art.
Ovid possessed remarkable powers over language :
he was a great phrase-maker. He was also one of
the greatest of metricians. These are high qualities,
and in the poems from exile they are scarcely
impaired at all, in spite of the fact that here as
elsewjiere in Ovid they often degenerate into mere
juggling with words. But when the poet is at his
best there is the old skill in the use of a remarkably
simple vocabulary, the old simplicity of structure, the
1 T. v. 1.
xxxii
INTRODUCTION
same limpid clearness and skilful arrangement, the
same sweetness and melody in the verse. No
translation can hope to render all this. It cannot be
separated from the Latin. But the translator can
at least use simple English ; he can try to be clear
and to hint at the beauties of the order. He can
do little else. Ovid destroyed much that he wrote,
he tells us, and the Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto
are the cream of his years of exile. Considering
the fact that they represent eight or nine years of
work their bulk is not great. Because of the
monotony of their content and tone and the almost
constant obtrusion of mere rhetorical trickery they
will never be popular, and yet they contain much
that is admirable. To those who can be patient
with Ovid, who like good writing for its own sake,
the poems from exile will always make a strong
appeal.
CHRONOLOGY AND PUBLICATION
In P. iv. 6. 16 there is a reference to the death
of Augustus together with the statement (v. 5) that
Ovid has passed an Olympiad of five years in Scythia.
Augustus died August 19, A.D. 14. Therefore P.
iv. 6 was written in the autumn of A.D. 14, and the
poet had been in Tomis since A.D. 9 (probably summer
at latest). The poems of T. i. were all written
during his journey into exile (T. i. 1 1. 1 ff.), and since
he refers in this book to December and winter
(T. i. 11. 3 ff., 39, etc.), but mentions no discomforts
of a winter journey through the Thracian mountains,
and since he travelled so leisurely that he received
news from home (T. i. 6. 8 ff., i. 9. 39 f.), it is very
probable that he left Rome in the autumn or early
INTRODUCTION
winter of A.D. 8. Moreover, T. iv. 10. 95 f. implies
that he was fifty when he was ordered into exile (cf.
Ibis 1). If he is speaking at all precisely, we may
infer that the order came after March 20, A.D. 8, his
fiftieth birthday. On this basis we may establish
the following table :
T. i. Composed during the winter, A.D. 8-9.
T. ii. Composed A.D. 9- Tiberius is still warring
in Pannonia, and Ovid has not heard of the
close of the war and of Tiberius 's transfer to
Germany after the defeat of Varus (cf. vv.
177, 225 ff.).
T. iii. Composed A.D. 9-10. Germany has rebelled
(cf. iii. 12. 47 ff.). The defeat of Varus
occurred in the late summer or autumn
A.D. 9-
T. iv. Composed A.D. 10-11. Tiberius is cam-
paigning against the Germans (A.D. 10, cf.
iv. 2. 2). Ovid has passed two summers away
from home (i.e. autumn of A.D. 10, cf. iv. 6. 19),
and two winters (i.e. the spring of either A.D.
10 or 11 is meant, according as we interpret
the passage to refer to two winters since the
poet left Rome, or two passed in Tomis, cf.
iv. 7. 1 f.).
T. v. Composed A.D. 11-12, cf. v. 10. 1 (after three
winters or in the third winter in Pontus, i.e.
in the winter, cf. A.D. 11-12, or spring of
A.D. 12). Also Ovid has not yet heard of the
triumph of Tiberius, January 16, A.D. 13,1 i.e.
he is writing before that date.
1 Cf. H. Schulz, Quaestiones Ovid., 1883, p. 15, and
Mommsen, Provinces (Engl. transl.), i. p. 55.
xxxiv
INTRODUCTION
P. i.-iii. were published as a unit, cf. the proem
(i. 1) and the epilogue (iii. 9) to Brutus.
P. i.-iii. Composed A.D. 12-13. The triumph is
expected, i.e. before January 16, A.D. 13,
and therefore late in A.D. 12, cf. iii. 3. 86.
Other references to the triumph imply that
Ovid is writing not long before it or not long
after it, i.e. in the latter part of A.D. 12 or
the early part of A.D. 13, cf. ii. 1. 1 and 46 ;
ii. 2. 75; ii. 5. 27; iii. 1. 1,36; iii. 4. 3 if.
Also Ovid is in Tomis for the fourth winter,
i.e. the winter of 12-13 A.D., cf. i. 2. 26, and
for the fourth autumn, i.e. the autumn of
A.D. 12, cf. i. 8. 27. Lastly iv. 4 was sent to
Sex. Pompey before he entered on his consul-
ship in A.D. I!-, i.e. this poem of the fourth
book was written in the latter part of A.D. 13.
It is quite possible that some of the letters
which cannot be dated may have been written
before some of the later Tristia.
P. iv. Composed A.D. 13-16. P. iv. 4 belongs to
A.D. 13 (see above), iv. 5 to A.D. 14, since it
was written after Pompey became consul,
iv. 6 was written after Augustus's death, i.e.
in the autumn A.D. 14. The sixth summer
(iv. 10. 1) and the sixth winter (iv. 13. 40) in
Tomis are mentioned, i.e. the summer of
A.D. 14 and the winter of A.D. 14-15. The
latest reference is that to the consulship of
Graecinus (iv. 9- 4), and since he was consul
suffectus A.D. 16, arid the letter wras intended
to reach him on the day he took office
in May, it was probably written early in
A.D. 16,
XXXV
INTRODUCTION
Thus the letters of P. iv., so far as they can be
dated, were composed A.D. 13-16, but some of the
letters which cannot be dated may have been
written a little before or a little after this period.
Since the book has no proem and several of the
letters are addressed to persons not mentioned
before, it is probable that Ovid did not himself
collect these letters for publication in book form.
Perhaps, on the other hand, he was preparing to
do so, for iv. 16 has the air of having been written
as an epilogue. It is a variation on that assertion
of fame which was a convention with Augustan poets,
only, since Ovid regarded himself as already dead
to the world, Horace's non omnis mortar becomes
here a non omnis mortuus sum.
The internal evidence already cited shows that
it was Ovid's custom to send each letter separately
to its recipient, and when enough letters had
accumulated to collect them for publication in book
form. At the time of publication it is possible
that he excluded some letters which had been sent
separately ; certainly he added the introductory
and perhaps some of the closing poems. Each book,
save T. ii., which is one long composition, and
P. iv. (see above), is provided with such poems, and
the same is true of P. i.-iii., which for purposes of
publication formed a unit. With this exception
each book also was published separately (cf. T. v.
1. 1 f.).
The arrangement of letters within the books is
not chronological. This is proved for the Pontic
Epistles by the chronological references which they
contain, and by Ovid's statement that the pieces
of P. i.-iii. were collected " without order " (P. iii.
xxxvi
INTRODUCTION
9. 53), which refers primarily if not exclusively to
chronological order, and it is probable for the Tristia.
since at least the proems do not owe their positions
to considerations of chronology. We should make
an exception to this general principle when pairs
of letters to the same person occur within a book.
Such pairs seem to be in chronological order. The
letters are therefore not arranged chronologically
but so as to present as much variety as possible.
As Ovid himself states (P. i. 1. 15 ff.), the Tristia
do not differ essentially from the Pontic Epistles except
that, so far as the epistolary form is concerned, the
recipients of the Tristia are not addressed by name.
The term epistula is in fact used of one of the Tristia
(T. v. 4. 1). In the Tristia only the members of
the imperial house are addressed by name * ; in the
Pontic Epistles all the persons addressed are named
save two enemies (P. iv. 3 and 16) and one friend
who was still afraid to be connected so openly with
the exile (P. iii. 6).
Saint Jerome, in his continuation of the Chronicle
ofEusebius says, under the year A.D. 16 or (according
to some manuscripts) 17, that Ovid died in exile
and was buried near Tomis. The dates agree well
with the latest datable reference in the poems from
exile — the consulship of Graecinus, A.D. 16. The
date A.D. 18, which is often given, is based on Fasti
i. 223-226, a reference to the restoration of the temple
of Janus, near the theatre of Marcellus, which was
completed by Tiberius in that year. But this
restoration was begun by Augustus, and Ovid's
words do not certainly imply that the work was
completed at the time he was writing.
1 Except Perilla (T. iii. 7).
xxxvii
INTRODUCTION
A smaller share of the fame which Ovid often
prophesies for his verse fell to the poems from exile
than to other parts of his work, especially the
Metamorphoses, and yet there is abundant evidence
that this poetry of his declining years has been read
almost continuously from his own time to ours.
During the centuries of the Empire it is constantly
mentioned and often imitated by the poets, both
pagan and Christian, although the prose writers
contain few references. From early in the second
century to the first half of the fourth there is a
period of silence, but the references then begin once
more and continue through the Carlovingian Age
and the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. If space
permitted, a long list of poets might be given who
knew and used these works of Ovid.
In the Middle Ages Ovid was, with Vergil and
Horace, one of the best known Roman writers.
Many library catalogues contain lists of his works,
Latin poems such as the Nux, the Elegia de Philomela,
the Laus Pisonis, were attributed to him, and new
poems composed in imitation of him were published
under his name. The great vogue of the Tristia,
and in less degree the Pontic Epistles, came in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They were used
for the construction of fanciful lives of the poet
and even introduced into schools. They were much
imitated and pillaged ; in the fourteenth century
Alberto Mussato, the friend of Dante, composed a
cento from the Tristia, and Dante himself made use
of the Tristia together with the other works of
Ovid. To this interest we owe the numerous
manuscripts which date from this period, and the
careful study devoted to the poet is manifest in
xxxviii
INTRODUCTION
the throng of interpolations, showing knowledge
of the verse technique, with which these manuscripts
are filled. In the fifteenth century the number of
manuscripts greatly increased and two editiones
principes appeared in 1471, at Rome and Bologna
respectively. Both are folios in two volumes, and
both include, in addition to the Tristia and Pontic
Epistles, together with most of the other authentic
works, some of the poems wrongly attributed to
Ovid.
The influence of Ovid on the literatures of modern
Europe lias been very great and extends to writers
of the first rank — Goethe, Shakespeare, etc. — but
it is impossible to discuss it here. The subject lias by
no means been thoroughly investigated, but the works
cited in the Bibliography will give the reader at
least a general idea of its extent and its importance.
THE TEXT
The text of the Tristia depends in the main upon seven
manuscripts, several of which are fragmentary :
6, the Treves fragment, of the tenth century, containing
only T. ii. 11. 1-31, 33-ii. 21; and "iv. 4. 3.5-65,
67-v. 9.
L, in the Laurentian Library. Parts of this MS.
belong to the eleventh century, parts to the
fifteenth, and there is a lacuna of 398 lines (iii. 7-
2-iv. 1. 11). Because of the fragmentary condition
of B the older parts of L are the mainstay of the
text.
A, probably of the eleventh century, a MS. now lost,
many of whose readings are known from marginalia
by Poliziano in an edition now in the Bodleian
Library.
xxxix
INTRODUCTION
G, of the thirteenth century, a MS. at Wolffenbuttel.
H, of the thirteenth century, a MS. at Holkham House,
seat of the Earl of Leicester.
P, of the fifteenth century, a Vatican MS.
V, of the thirteenth century, also in the Vatican.
The last five manuscripts constitute the second class
and are most important where B and L are not available.
All five come from some source which contained many
interpolations (glosses, conjectures, etc.), so that it is
often very difficult on their evidence alone to ascertain
the right reading.
Occasional help is derived from a third class, the
inferior manuscripts. Readings derived from these are
marked by the symbol r. The deflorationes also (excerpts
made in the Middle Ages) are of some service.
The best manuscripts of the Pontic Epistles represent
(except II, which contains the Tristia also) a different
tradition from that of the Tristia. The most important
are :
G, of the sixth century, a mere fragment containing
only P. iv. 9, 101-108, 127-133, and iv. 12, 15-19,
41-44.
Class I. :
A, of the ninth century, at Hamburg ; fragmentary,
containing only P. i.-iii. 2. 67, except i. 3 which
is omitted.
B, of the twelfth century, at Munich (No. 384).
C, of the twelfth century, at Munich (No. 19,476).
Class II. :
E, of the thirteenth century, at Eton.
H, of the thirteenth century, at Holkham House.
O, of the fifteenth century, in the Bodleian.
Other manuscripts of this class and also the later
manuscripts (s~) are of occasional service. These manu-
scripts, like those of the same period of the Tristia, have
been much tinkered.
G and A are best. When these are not available, B9 0
afford the best basis, supplemented by E, II, O.
xl
INTRODUCTION
Some light is thrown on the text of the Tristia and Ex
Ponto by inscriptions and the testimony of other Latin
writers, but this material is meagre.
The text of the present volume is based in the main
upon that of R. Ehwald, Leipzig, 1884 (Teubner text)1
together with the many modifications suggested by the
same scholar's publications since 1884. But the trans-
lator has also profited greatly by the labours of other
scholars, especially S. G. Owen (see Bibliog.). The
present text differs in hundreds of places from both
Ehwald and Owen.
In the brief critical apparatus an effort has been made
(1) to indicate all passages in which the text adopted
does not rest on good sources, and (2) to give a running
selection of variants contained in the better sources.
Thus, a reading reprinted in the critical apparatus with
an appended b~ is taken from the later and inferior manu-
scripts ; a reading followed by the name of a scholar
is a conjecture by that scholar. Variants printed without
symbols are always derived from one or more of the
better manuscripts. This system has been adopted to
save space, since the purpose of the critical apparatus is
merely to indicate to readers who may be interested the
corrupt passages and to give some idea of the extent to
which the manuscripts have been interpolated. For
full lists of variants Owen's editions should be consulted.
1 The translator regrets that the new edition of this text
by R. Ehwald and F. Levy came into his hands after the
final proofs of this volume had been corrected, and so could
not be used.
xli
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
ON OVID'S LIFE
Benger, G., Rumania in 1900. Translated by A. H.
Keane, London, 1900.
Besnier, M., " Sulmo, patrie d'Ovide." In Melanges
Boissier, 1903.
Boissier, G., L' Opposition sous les Cesar •*, Paris, 1909, pp.
106-159 (on Ovid's exile).
De la Ville de Mirmont, H., La Jeunesse d'Ovide, Paris,
1905.
Mtillenhoff, K., Deutsche Altertumskunde, Dritter Band,
Berlin, 1892, pp. 125 if. (on the Getae).
Ne*methy, G., Commentarius eocegeticus ad Ovidii Tristia,
Budapestini, 1913. Excursus I. De tertia Ovidii
uxore. II., De causa relegationis.
Pick, B., and Regling, R., Antike Miinzen Nordgriechen-
lands, Berlin, 1898, 1910 (on Tomis and its history).
Pittard, E., La Roumanie, Paris, 1917.
Schulze, W., " Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen,"
Abhandlungen der Konigl. Gesellschaft der Wissen-
schaften zu Gb'ttingen, Philolog.-hist. Klasse, Berlin,
1904.
ON THE CONTENT, PERSONS, CHRONOLOGY, ETC.
Graeber, G., Quacstiones Ovidianae. Pars I. Elberfeld,
1881.
Graeber, G., Untersuchungcn fiber Ovids Brief e aus der
Verbannung (Part II. of Graeber 's work on chronology
and the persons addressed), Elberfeld, 1884.
Prosopographia Imperil Romani9 edited by E. Klebs and
others, Berolini, 1897-98.
Wartenburg, G., Quaestiones Ovidianae, etc., Berolini,
1884.
xlii
INTRODUCTION
ON THE TEXT AND ITS HISTORY
Ehwald, R., Ad historiam carminum Ovidianorum re-
censionemque symbolae, i. Gothae, 1889, ii. Gothae,
1892.
Ehwald, R., Kritische Beitrage zu Ovids Epistulae ex Ponto,
Gotha, 1896.
Owen, S. G., Prolegomena to his edition of the Tristia,
Oxford, 1889.
Schreuders, O., Observations in P. Ovidii Nasonis ex Ponto
libros i.-iii., Lugduni Batavorum, 1895.
Tank, F., De Tristibus Ovidii recensendis, Stettini, 1879.
Vogel, P., Kritische und cxegetische Bemerkungen zu
Ovids Tristien, Schneeburg, 1891.
ON OVID'S INFLUENCE IN LATER TIMES
Ehwald, R. (see preceding section, first title).
Manitius, M., " Beitrage zur Geschichte des Ovidius, etc.,
im Mittelalter," Philologus, Supplement band vii.,
1899, pp. 723-767.
Owen, S. G., Edition of Tristia, 1889, pp. 247-267 (list of
imitations by Ovid and of Ovid).
Owen, S. G., " Ovid and Romance," in the volume
entitled English Literature and the Classics, ed. by
G. S. Gordon, Oxford, 1912.
Root, R. K., Classical Mythology in Shakespeare, New York,
1903.
Schevill, R., Ovid and the Renascence in Spain, Univ. of
California, 1913.
Paris, G., " Chretien Legouais et les autres traducteurs
on imitateurs d'Ovide," in Ilistoire Hit. de la France,
tome xxix. (1885), pp. 455-525.
Paris, G., la Potsie du moyen age, 1887, pp. 189-209.
Langlois, E., Origines et sources du Roman de la Rose,
Paris, 1891.
Zingerle, A., Zu spdteren lateinischen Dichtern (two parts),
Oeniponti, 1873, 1879.
Zingerle, A., Martials Ovidstudien, Oeniponti, 1877-
xliii
INTRODUCTION
GENERAL WORKS
Ehwald, R., and A. Riese, Reviews of work on Ovid in
Bursian's Jahresbericht liber die Fortschritte der
klassischen Altertumswissennchaft, 1873-1919. (The
earlier reviews are by A. Riese.)
Schanz, M., GescJnchte der rdmiscJien Littcratur, vol. viii.
2. 1 (1911) of I. Muller's Handbuch der klassischen
Alter tumswissenschaft.
EDITIONS
Editiones principes. Rome and Bologna, 1471. (See
p. xxxix.)
N. Heinsius, revised by J. F. Fischer (all the works).
Lipsiae, 1758 (\vith word index).
R. Merkel and R. Ehwald, vol. iii. Tristia, Ex Ponto, etc.
Teubner text. Lipsiae, 1884. (A new edition by
R. Ehwald and F. Levy appeared in 1922.)
R. Merkel, Tristia and Ibis. Annotated. Berlin, 1837.
A. Riese, Tauchnitz text (all the works). Lipsiae, 1871-74.
V. Loers, Tristia. Annotated. Trier, 1839.
G. Ndmethy, Tristia. Commentarius exegeticus. Buda-
pestini, 1913.
S. G, Owen, Tristia. Elaborate edition with Prolegomena,
etc. Oxford, 1889.
S. G. Owen, Tristia, Ibis, Epistulae ex Ponto, fragments.
Oxford text, 1915.
E. Cocchia, Tristia. Annotated. Turin, 1900.
O. Korn, Epistulae ex Ponto. Lipsiae, 1868.
G. N^methy, Epistulae ex Ponto. Commentarius exe-
geticus. Budapestini, 1915.
Full lists of editions may be found in Owen's edition
of the Tristia, 1889, and in Schanz 's Geschichte der
rfimischcn Litteratur. Besides complete editions many
selections or editions of single books have been published.
xliv
OVID'S TRISTIA
TRIST1UM LIBER PRIMUS
I.
Parve — nee invideo — sine me, liber, ibis in urbern.
ei mihi, quod ] domino non licet ire tuo !
vade, sed incultus, qualem decet exulis esse ;
infelix habitum temporis huius habe.
5 nee te purpureo velent vaccinia fuco —
non est conveniens luctibus ille color —
nee titulus minio, nee cedro charta notetur,
Candida nee nigra cornua fronte geras.
felices ornent haec instrumenta libellos ;
10 fortunae memorem te decet esse meae.
nee fragili geminae poliantur purnice frontes,
hirsutus sparsis ut videare cornis.
neve liturarum pudeat ; qui viderit illas,
de lacrimis factas sentiet 2 esse meis.
15 vade, liber, verbisque meis loca grata saluta :
contingam certe quo licet ilia pede.
siquis, ut in populo, nostri non inmemor illi,3
siquis, qui, quid agam, forte requirat, crit,
1 cum vel quo 2 sentiat corr. r 3 illo
1 The order of the poems is not chronological. (See
Introd. p. xxxvi.)
2
OVID'S TRISTIA— BOOK I
I. THE POET TO HIS Boon1
LITTLE book, you will go without me — and T
grudge it not — to the city. Alas that your master
is not allowed to go ! Go, but go unadorned, as
becomes the book of an exile ; in your misfortune
wear the garb that befits these days of mine. You
shall have no cover dyed with the juice of purple
berries — no fit colour is that for mourning ; your
title shall not be tinged with vermilion nor your
paper with oil of cedar ; and you shall wear no
white bosses upon your dark edges.2 Books of good
omen should be decked with such things as these ;
'tis my fate that you should bear in mind. Let no
brittle pumice polish your two edges ; I would have
you appear with locks all rough and disordered.
Be not ashamed of blots ; he who sees them will
feel that they were caused by my tears.
15 Go, my book, and in my name greet the loved
places : I will tread them at least with what foot 3
I may. If, as is natural in so great a throng, there
shall be any there who still remembers me, any
who may perchance ask how I fare, you are to say
2 In Ovid's time the Roman book was a roll. The ends
of the rod (bosses, knobs) were called cornua (** horns ").
8 i.e. metrical foot.
3
OVID
vivere me dices, salvum tamen esse negabis ;
20 id quoque, quod vivam, munus habere del.
atque ita tu tacitus — quaerenti plura legendus l —
ne, quae non opus est, forte loquare, cave !
protinus admonitus repetet mea crimina lector,
et peragar populi publicus ore reus.
25 tu cave defendas, quamvis mordebere dictis ;
causa patrocinio non bona maior 2 erit.
invenies aliquem, qui me suspiret ademptum,
carmina nee siccis perlegat ista genis,
et tacitus secum, ne quis malus audiat, optet,
30 sit mea lenito Caesare poena levis.
nos quoque, quisquis erit, ne sit miser ille, precamur,
placatos miseris qui volet esse deos ;
quaeque volet, rata sint, ablataque principis ira
sedibus in patriis det mihi posse mori.
35 ut peragas mandata, liber, culpabere forsan
ingeniique minor laude ferere mei.
iudicis officium est ut res, ita tempora rerum
quaerere. quaesito tempore tutus eris.
carmina proveniunt ammo deducta sereno ;
40 nubila sunt subitis tempora nostra malis.
carmina secessum scribentis et otia quaerunt ;
me mare, me venti, me fera iactat hiems.
carminibus metus omnis obest 3 ; ego perditus ensem
haesurum iugulo iam puto iamque meo.
45 haec quoque quod facio, iudex mirabitur aequus,
scriptaque cum venia qualiacumque leget.
1 legend um corr. Ehwald * peior T
8 abest corr. Francius
TRISTIA, I. i. 19-46
that I live, yet not in health and happiness ; that
even the fact of life I hold to be the gift of a god.
Except for this be silent — for he who asks more
must read you — and take care that you chance not
to say what you should not ; forthwith, if but a
reminder be given, the reader will recall my sins,
and I shall still be convicted by the people's voice
as a public criminal. Do you take care to make no
defence though attacked with biting words ; my
case is not a good one, and will prove too difficult
for advocacy. You are to find one who sighs
over my exile, reading your lines with cheeks that
are not dry, one who will utter a silent prayer
unheard by any ill-wisher, that through the soften-
ing of Caesar's anger my punishment may be
lightened. On my part I pray that whoever he
may be, suffering may not come to him who wishes
the gods to be kind to suffering. May his wish be
fulfilled ! May the removal of the Prince's wrath
grant me the power to die at home in my country !
35 Though you should carry out my directions
you will be criticized perchance, my book, and re-
garded as beneath the glory of my genius. Tis
a judge's duty to investigate both the circumstances
and the time" of an act. If they ask the time you
will be secure. Poetry comes fine spun from a
mind at peace ; my days are clouded with un-
expected woes. Poetry requires the writer to be
in privacy and ease ; I am harassed by the sea, by
gales, by wintry storms. Poetry is injured by any
fear ; I in my ruin am ever and ever expecting a
sword to pierce my throat. Even the making of
such verse as this will surprise a fair-minded critic
and he will read these verses with indulgence, how-
5
OVID
da mihi Maeoniden et tot circumice l casus,
ingenium tantis excidet omne mails,
denique securus famae, liber, ire memento,
50 nee tibi sit lecto displicuisse pudor.
non ita se nobis praebet Fortuna secundam,
ut tibi sit ratio laudis habenda tuae.
donee eram sospes, tituli tangebar amore,
quaerendique mihi nominis ardor erat.
55 carmina nunc si non studiumque, quod obfuit, odi,
sit satis ; ingenio sic fuga parta meo.
tu tamen i pro me, tu, cui licet, aspice Romam.
di facerent, possem nunc meus esse liber !
nee te, quod venias magnam peregrinus in urbem,
60 ignotum populo posse venire puta.
ut titulo careas, ipso noscere colore ;
dissimulare velis, te liquet esse meum.
clam tamen intrato, ne te mea carmina lacdant ;
non sunt ut quondam plena favoris erant.
65 siquis erit, qui te, quia sis meus, esse legendum
non putet, e gremio reiciatque suo,
" inspice " die " titulum. non sum praeceptor
amoris ;
quas meruit, poenas iam dedit illud opus/'
forsitan expectes, an in alta Palatia missum
70 scandere te iubeam Caesareamque domurn.
ignoscant augusta mihi loca dique locorum 1
venit in hoc ilia fulmen ab arce caput.
1 circumice Heinsius : circumspice
6
TRISTIA, I. i. 47-72
ever poor they are. Pray bring the Maeonian1
and cast just as many dangers about him ; all his
genius will fall away in the presence of such great
ills.
49 Take heed, then, my book, to go untroubled
about fame, and be not ashamed that your readers
gain no pleasure. Fortune is not now so favourable
to me that you should take account of your praise.
In the time of my security I was touched by the
love of renown, and I burned to win a name. Now
let it be enough if I do not hate poetry and the
pursuit which has injured me ; through that my
own wit has brought me exile. But do you go in
my stead, do you, who are permitted to do so, gaze
on Rome ! Would that the gods might grant me
now to be my book ! — and think not, because you
enter into the great city as one from foreign lands,
that you can come as a stranger to the people.
Though you should lack a title, your very style will
bring recognition ; though you should wish to
play the deceiver, it is clear that you are mine.
And yet enter secretly, that my verses may not
harm you ; they are not popular as once they were.
If there shall be anybody who thinks you unworthy
to be read for the reason that you are mine and
repels you from his breast, say to him, " Examine
the title. I am not the teacher of love ; that work 2
has already paid its deserved penalty."
69 Perchance you are waiting to see if I shall
send you to the lofty Palatine and bid you mount
to Caesar's house. May those places of awe and
the gods of those places grant me pardon ! It was
from that citadel that the bolt fell upon this head
1 Homer. 2 A reference to the Ars amatoria.
7
OVID
esse quidem mernini mitissima sedibus illis
numina, sed timeo qui nocuere deos.
75 terretur minimo pennae stridore columba,
unguibus, accipiter, saucia facta tuis.
nee procul a stabulis audet discedere, siqua
excussa est avidi dentibus agna lupi.
vitaret caelum Phaethon, si viveret, et quos
80 optarat stulte, tangere nollet equos.
me quoque, quae sensi, fateor lovis arma timere :
me reor infesto, cum tonat, igne peti.
quicumque Argolica de classe Capherea fugit,
semper ab Euboicis vela retorsit l aquis ;
85 et mea cumba semel vasta percussa procella
ilium, quo laesa est, horret adire locum,
ergo cave, liber, et timida circumspice m^nte>
ut satis a media sit tibi plebe legi.
dum petit infirmis nimium sublimia peniiis
90 Icarus, aequoreas nomine fecit aquas.2
difficile est tarn en hinc, remis utaris an aura,
dicere : consilium resque locusque dabunt.
si poteris vacuo tradi, si cuncta videbis
mitia, si vires fregerit ira suas,
95 siquis erit, qui te dubitantem et adire timentem
tradat, et ante tamen pauca loquatur, adi.
luce bona dominoque tuo felicior ipso
pervenias illuc et mala nostra leves.
namque ea vel nemo, vel qui mihi vulnera fecit
100 solus Achilleo tollere more potest.
1 retorquet corr. Bentley
8 Icarias : aequoreis nomina fecit aquis 5"
TRISTIA, I. i. 73-100
of mine. There are, I know, in those shrines deities
of exceeding mercy, but I still fear the gods who
have wrought me harm. The least rustle of a
feather brings dread upon the dove that thy talons,
0 hawk, have wounded. Nor does any lamb,
once wrested from the teeth of a ravenous wolf,
venture to go far from the fold. Phaethon would
avoid the sky if he were alive ; the steeds which
in his folly he desired, he would refuse to touch.
1 too admit — for I have felt it — that I fear the
weapon of Jupiter : I believe myself the target of a
hostile bolt whenever the thunder roars. Every
man of the Argive fleet who escaped the Capherean
rocks always turned his sails away from the waters
of Euboea ; and even so my bark, once shattered by
a mighty storm, dreads to approach that place where
it was wrecked. Therefore be careful, my book,
and look all around with timid heart, so as to find
content in being read by ordinary folk. By seeking
too lofty heights on weak wings Icarus gave a name
to waters of the sea. Yet from this position of
mine 'tis hard to say whether you should use the
oars or the breeze. You will be advised by the
time and the place. If you can be handed to him L
when he is at leisure, if you see everything kindly
disposed, if his anger has lost its keenness, if there
is anybody, while you are hesitating in fear to
approach, who will hand you to him, introducing
you with but a few brief words — then approach him.
On a lucky day and with better fortune than
your master may you arrive there and lighten my
misfortunes. For either nobody can remove them
or, in the fashion of Achilles, that man only who
1 The Emperor.
9
OVID
tantum ne noceas, dum vis prodesse, vide to —
nam spes est animi nostra timore minor —
quaeque quiescebat, ne mota resaeviat ira
et poenae tu sis altera causa, cave !
105 cum tamen in nostrum fueris penetrale receptus,
contigerisque tuam, scrinia curva, domum,
aspicies illic positos ex ordine fratres,
quos studium cunctos evigilavit idem,
cetera turba palam titulos ostendet apertos,
110 et sua detecta nomina fronte geret ;
tres procul obscura latitantes parte videbis, —
sic quoque,1 quod nemo nescit, amare docent.
hos tu vel fugias, vel, si satis oris habebis,
Oedipodas facito Telegonosque voces.
115 deque tribus, moneo, si qua est tibi cura parentis,
ne quemquam, quamvis ipse docebit, ames.
sunt quoque mutatae, ter quinque volumina, formae,
nuper ab exequiis carmina rapta meis.
his mando dicas, inter mutata referri
120 fortunae vultum corpora posse meae.
namque ea dissimilis subito est effecta priori,
flendaque mine, aliquo tempore laeta fuit.
plura quidem mandare tibi, si quaeris, habebam,
sed vereor tardae causa fuisse morae 2 ;
125 et si quae subeunt, tecum, liber, omnia ferres,
sarcina laturo magna futurus eras.
1 hi qui vel hi quoque : sic quoque Bentley
2 viae
1 See Index, s.v. Telephus.
10
TRISTIA, I. i. 101-126
wounded me.1 Only see that you do no harm in
your wish to help — for my hope is smaller than my
fear — and that slumbering wrath ! — take care that it
be not roused to renewed fierceness and that you
be not to me a second cause of punishment.
105 But when you find refuge in my sanctuary,
reaching your own home, the round book-cases, you
will behold there brothers arranged in order —
brothers whom the same craftmanship produced
with toil and waking. The rest of the band will
display their titles openly, bearing their names on
their exposed edges, but three at some distance
will strive to hide themselves in a dark place, as
you will notice — even so, as everybody knows,
they teach how to love. These you should either
avoid or, if you have the assurance, give them the
names of Oedipus or of Telegonus.2 And I warn
you, if you have any regard for your father, love not
any one of the three, though he himself teach you.
There are also thrice five rolls about changing forms,3
poems recently saved from the burial of my fortunes.
To these I bid you say that the aspect of my own
fate can now be reckoned among those metamor-
phosed figures. For that aspect has on a sudden
become quite different from what it was before —
a cause of tears now, though once of joy. More
directions for you, if you ask me, I have been
keeping, but I fear to be the cause of lingering delay ;
and if you were to carry with you, my book, all that
occurs to me, 'tis likely you would be a heavy burden
to him who shall bear you. The road is long. Make
2 Both were parricides, and so, like Ovid's book, destroyed
the author of their being.
3 The Metamorphoses in fifteen books.
11
OVID
longa via est, propera ! nobis habitabitur orbis
ultimus, a terra terra remota mea.
II.
Di maris et caeli — quid enim nisi vota supersunt ?-
solvere quassatae parcite membra ratis,
neve, precor, magni subscribite Caesaris irae !
saepe premente deo fert deus alter opem.
6 Mulciber in Troiam, pro Troia stabat Apollo ;
aequa Venus Teucris, Pallas iniqua fuit.
oderat Aenean propior Saturnia Turno ;
ille tamen Veneris numine tutus erat.
saepe ferox cautum petiit Neptunus Ulixen ;
10 eripuit patruo saepe Minerva suo.
et nobis aliquod, quamvis distamus ab illis,
quis vetat irato numen adesse deo ?
verba miser frustra non proficientia perdo.
ipsa graves spargunt ora loquentis aquae,
15 terribilisque Notus iactat mea dicta, precesque
ad quos mittuntur, non sinit ire deos.
ergo idem venti, ne causa laedar in una,
velaque nescio quo votaque nostra ferunt.
me miserurn, quanti montes volvuntur aquarum !
20 iam iam tacturos sidera summa putes.
quantae diducto subsidunt aequore valles !
iam iam tacturas Tartara nigra putes.
quocumque aspicio, nihil est, nisi pontus et aer,
fluctibus hie tumidus, nubibus ille minax.
12
TRISTIA, I. i. 127—n. 24
haste ! I shall continue to dwell at the edge of the
world, a land far removed from my own.
II. STORM AND PRAYER
O gods of sea and sky — for what but prayer is
left ? — break not the frame of our shattered bark
and second not, I implore, the wrath of mighty
Caesar ! Oft when a god presses hard another god
brings succour. Mulciber was opposed to Troy,
but in Troy's defence stood Apollo ; Venus favoured
the Teucrians, Pallas favoured them not. There
was hate for Aeneas on the part of Saturnia who
stood closely by Turnus ; yet that hero was safe
through Venus' power. Ofttimes unruly Neptune
assailed the wily Ulysses ; ofttimes Minerva saved
him from her own uncle. And different though I
am from them, who forbids a divine power from
being of some avail to me against the angry god ?
13 But, wretch that I am, to no purpose am I
wasting profitless words. My very lips as I speak
are sprayed by the heavy waves, and dread Notus
hurls away my words nor suffers my prayers to
reach the gods to whom they are directed. So the
same winds, that I be not punished in one way only,
are driving — I know not whither — both my sails
and my prayers. Wretched me ! what vast moun-
tains of water heave themselves aloft ! Now, now,
you think, they will touch the highest stars. What
mighty abysses settle beneath us as the flood yawns
apart ! Now, now you think they will touch
black Tartarus. Wherever I gaze there is naught
but sea and air — sea swollen with billows, air athreat
IS
OVID
25 inter utrumque fremunt inmani murmur e venti.
nescit, cui domino pareat, unda maris.
nam modo purpureo vires capit Eurus ab ortu,
nunc Zephyrus sero vespere missus adest,
nunc sicca gelidus Boreas bacchatur ab Arc to,
30 nunc Notus adversa proelia fronte gerit.
rector in incerto est nee quid fugiatve petatve
invenit : ambiguis ars stupet ipsa malis.
scilicet occidimus, nee spes est ulla salutis,
dumque loquor, vultus obruit unda meos.
35 opprimet hanc animam fluctus, frustraque precanti
ore necaturas accipiemus aquas,
at pia nil aliud quam me dolet exule coniunx :
hoc unum nostri scitque gemitque mali.
nescit in inmenso iactari corpora ponto,
40 nescit agi ventis, nescit adesse necem.
o bene, quod non sum mecum conscendere passus,
ne mihi mors misero bis patienda foret !
at nunc, ut peream, quoniam caret ilia periclo,
dimidia certe parte superstes ero.
45 ei mihi, quam celeri micuerunt nubila flamma !
quantus ab aetherio personat axe fragor !
nee levius tabulae laterum feriuntur ab undis,
quam grave balistae moenia pulsat onus,
qui venit hie fluctus, fluctus supereminet omnes :
60 posterior nono est undecimoque prior,
nee letum timeo ; genus est miserabile leti.
demite naufragium, mors mihi munus erit.
est aliquid, fatove suo ferrove ] cadentem
in solida 2 moriens ponere corpus humo,
1 fatove . . . ferrove Heinsius : fatoque . . . ferroque
2 solita : solida r
1 The ancient " siege gun," which hurled stones.
14
TRISTIA, I. n. 25-54
with clouds ; and between are the hum and roar
of the cruel winds. The waves of ocean know not
what master to obey. For now Eurus storms
mightily from the red east, now Zephyrus comes
rushing from the realm of late evening, now Boreas
raves from the dry pole-star, now Notus battles with
opposing brow. The helmsman is confused nor
can he find what to avoid or what to seek ; his very
skill is numbed by the baffling perils. We are surely
lost, there is no hope of safety, and as I speak, the
waters overwhelm my face. The billows will crush
this life of mine, and with lips that pray in vain I
shall drink in the destroying water.
37 But my loyal wife grieves for naught save my
exile — that is the only ill of mine she knows and
bemoans. She knows not that I am buffeted about
on the vast sea, knows not that I am harried by the
winds, knows not that death is near me. Ah, well
it was that I suffered her not to board ship with me,
else I, poor wretch, should now be forced to suffer a
double death ! But as it is, even though I perish,
in her freedom from peril at least I shall half survive.
Alas ! what a swift glitter of flame from the clouds !
What a mighty crash roars from the zenith ! And
no lighter blow falls upon her planks from the
billows than the heavy pounding of the balista1
upon a wall. Here comes a wave that o'ertops
them all — the wave after the ninth and before the
eleventh. I fear not death ; 'tis the form of death
that I lament. Save me from shipwreck and death
will be a boon. Tis something worth if falling by
fate 2 or by the steel one rests in death upon the
solid ground, utters some parting words to friends,
2 i.e. natural death.
15
OVID
65 et mandare suis aliqua et 1 sperare sepulcrum
et non aequoreis piscibus esse cibum.
fingite me dignum tali nece, non ego solus
hie vehor. inmeritos cur mea poena trahit ?
pro superi viridesque dei, quibus aequora curae,
60 utraque iam vestras sistite turba minas,
quamque dedit vitam mitissima Caesaris ira,
hanc sinite infelix in loca iussa feram.
si quantam 2 merui, poena me perdere vultis,
culpa mea est ipso iudice morte minor.
65 mittere me Stygias si iam voluisset in undas
Caesar, in hoc vestra non eguisset ope.
est illi nostri non invidiosa cruoris
copia ; quodque dedit, cum volet, ipse feret.
vos modo, quos certe nullo, puto, crimine laesi,
70 contenti nostris iam, precor, este malis !
nee tamen, ut cuncti miserum servare velitis,
quod periit, salvum iam caput esse potest.
ut mare considat ventisque ferentibus utar,
ut mihi parcatis, non minus exul ero.
75 non ego divitias avidus sine fine parandi
latum mutandis mercibus aequor aro,
nee peto, quas quondam petii studiosus, Athenas,
oppida non Asiae, non loca visa prius,
non ut Alexandri claram delatus ad urbem
80 delicias videam, Nile iocose, tuas.
quod faciles 3 opto ventos, — quis credere posset 4 ? —
Sarmatis est tellus, quam mea vela petunt.
obligor, ut tangam laevi fera litora Ponti ;
quodque sit a patria tarn 5 fuga tarda, queror.
1 aliquid et corr. S~
2 quoque quam vel quia : quantam Rappold
3 facile est : faciles Heinsius * possit 6 iam corr. £""
1 Possibly laevi here means •* propitious," '• favouring," cf
16
TRISTIA, I. n. 55-84
and looks forward to a tomb — not to be the food of
fishes in the sea. Suppose me deserving of such a
death, yet I am not here the only passenger. Why
does my punishment involve the innocent ? O ye
gods above and ye of the green flood, who rule the
waters, — stay ye now, both hosts of you, your
threats. The life that Caesar's merciful wrath has
granted, let me carry, unhappy man that I am, to
the appointed place. If ye wish to ruin me with
a penalty great as I have deserved, my fault even in
my judge's eyes merits not death. If ere now
Caesar had wished to send me to the waters of the
Styx, he had not needed your aid in this. He has
a power over my life which ye may not begrudge ;
and what he has granted he will take away when he
shall wish. But ye, whom surely no crime of mine
has wronged, be content by now with my woes.
And yet, though ye be all willing to save a wretch,
that life which is lost cannot now be safe. Even
should the sea grow calm and favouring breezes
bear me on — even should ye spare me — I shall be
not less an exile. Not in greed of limitless wealth
do I plough the sea to trade my wares nor am I
on my way to Athens as once I was while a student,
nor to the cities of Asia, nor the places I have seen
before, nor am I sailing to Alexander's famous
city to see thy pleasures, merry Nile. The reason
of my prayers for favouring winds (who could believe
it ?) is the Sarmatian land, the object of my voyage.
I am constrained to reach the wild shores of ill-
omened1 Pontus, and I complain that my journey
into exile from my native land is so slow ! That
6 Euwi/iyxos n6?ros, " Pontus of the fair name.*' Or Ovid means
" Pontus-on-the-left " (see Introd. p. xxvii).
c 17
OVID
85 nescio quo videam positos ut in orbe Tomitas,
exilem facio per mea vota viam.
sen me diligitis, tantos conpescite fluctus,
pronaque sint nostrae numina vestra rati ;
seu magis odistis, iussae me advertite terrae :
90 supplicii pars est in regione mei.1
ferte — quid hie facio ? — rapidi mea corpora 2 venti !
Ausonios fines cur mea vela volunt ?
noluit hoc Caesar, quid, quem fugat ille, tenetis ?
aspiciat vultus Pontica terra meos.
95 et iubet et merui ; nee, quae damnaverit ille,
crimina defend! fasque piumque puto.
si tamen acta deos numquam mortalia fallunt,
a culpa facinus scitis abesse mea.
immo ita si scitis, si me meus abstulit error,
100 stultaque mens nobis, non scelerata fuit,
quod licet et minimis, domui si favimus illi,
si satis Augusti publica iussa mihi,
hoc duce si dixi felicia saecula, proque
Caesare tura piis Caesaribusque dedi, —
105 si fuit hie animus nobis, ita parcite divi !
si minus, alta cadens obruat unda caput !
fallor, an incipiunt gravidae vanescere nubes,
victaque mutati frangitur unda maris ?
non casu, vos sed sub condicione vocati,
110 fallere quos non est, hanc mihi fertis opem.
III.
Cum subit illius tristissima noctis imago,
qua mihi supremum tempus in urbe fuit,
1 mori : mei £~ * carbasa : corpora T
1 The grandsons and adopted sons of Augustus.
18
TRISTIA, I. ii. 85— in. 2
I may see the Tomitans, situate in some corner of
the world, I am trying to shorten the road by prayer !
87 If it be that you love me, restrain these mighty
billows, and let your powers favour my bark ; or if
you detest me, turn me towards the ordained land ;
a part of my punishment consists in the place of it.
Drive me on, ye swift winds ! What have I to do
here ? Why do my sails crave the Ausonian land ?
This was not Caesar's will. Why do you detain
one whom he drives forth ? Let the land of Pontus
behold my face. He commands it and I have
deserved it ; nor do I account it lawful and righteous
to defend the sins that he has condemned. Yet if
human acts never deceive the gods, ye know that
no guilty deed is connected with my fault. Nay,
if such your knowledge, if a mistake of mine has
carried me away, if stupid was my mind, not criminal,
if — as even the humblest may — I have supported
that house with favour, if the public commands of
Augustus were in my eyes sufficient ; if under his
lead 1 have sung of a happy age, and for Caesar and
the loyal Caesars l I have offered incense ; — if such
has been my spirit, then spare me, gods ! If not,
may a towering wave fall and whelm my head !
107 Am I wrong or do the heavy clouds begin to
melt away and is the water of the changing sea
being conquered and subdued ? It is no chance,
but ye, summoned to hear my pledge, ye whom we
cannot deceive, are bringing me this succour 1
III. THE NIGHT OF EXILE
When steals upon me the gloomy memory of
that night which marked my latest hours in the
19
OVID
cum repeto noctem, qua tot mihi cara reliqui,
labitur ex oculis nunc quoque gutta meis.
6 iam prope lux aderat, qua l me discedere Caesar
finibus extremae iusserat Ausoniae.
nee spatium nee mens fuerat satis apta parandi :
torpuerant longa pectora nostra mora.
non mihi servorum, comites non cura legendi,
10 non aptae profugo vestis opisve fuit.
non aliter stupui, quam qui lovis ignibus ictus
vivit et est vitae nescius ipse suae.
ut tamen hanc animi nubem dolor ipse removit,
et tandem sensus convaltiere mei,
15 adloquor extremum maestos abiturus amicos,
qui modo de multis unus et alter erant.
uxor amans flentem flens acrius ipsa tenebat,
imbre per indignas usque cadente genas.
nata procul Libycis aberat diversa sub oris,
20 nee poterat fati certior esse mei.
quocumque aspiceres, luctus gemitusque sonabant,
formaque non taciti funeris intus erat.
femina virque meo, pueri quoque funere maerent,
inque domo lacrimas angulus omnis habet.
25 si licet exemplis in parvis 2 grandibus uti,
haec facies Troiae, cum caperetur, erat.
iamque quiescebant voces hominumque canumque,
Lunaque nocturnos alta regebat equos.
hanc ego suspiciens et ad hanc 3 Capitolia cernens,
30 quae nostro frustra iuncta fuere Lari,
" numina vicinis habitantia sedibus," inquam,
" iamque oculis numquam templa videnda meis,
1 qua] cum 2 parvo 3 ab hac
20
TRISTIA, I. in. 3-32
city — when I recall that night on which I left so
many things dear to me, even now from my eyes
the teardrops fall.
5 Already the morning was close at hand on whicli
Caesar had bidden me to depart from Ausonia's
furthest bounds. No time had there been or spirit to
get ready what might suit best ; my heart had be-
come numb with the long delay. I took no thought
to select my slaves or my companions or the clothing
and outfit suited to an exile. I was as dazed as
one who, smitten by the fire of Jove, still lives and
knows not that he lives. But when my very pain
drove away the cloud upon my mind and at length
my senses revived, I addressed for the last time
as I was about to depart my sorrowing friends of
whom, just now so many, but one or two remained.
My loving wife was in my arms as I wept, herself
weeping more bitterly, tears raining constantly
over her innocent cheeks. My daughter was far
separated from us on the shores of Libya, and we
could not inform her of my fate. Wherever you had
looked was the sound of mourning and lamentation,
and within the house was the semblance of a funeral
with its loud outcries. Men and women, children
too, grieved at this funeral of mine ; in my home
every corner had its tears. If one may use in a
lowly case a lofty example, such was the appearance
of Troy in the hour of her capture.
27 Now the voices of men and dogs were hushed
and the moon aloft was guiding her steeds through
the night. Gazing up at her, and by her light at
the Capitol, which, all in vain, adjoined my home,
I prayed : "Ye deities that dwell near by and ye
temples never henceforth to be seen by my eyes,
21
OVID
dique relinquendi, quos urbs habet alta Quirini,
este salutati tempus in omne mihi.
35 et quamquam sero clipeuni post vulnera sumo,
attamen bane odiis exonerate fugam,
caelestique viro, quis me deceperit error,
dicite, pro culpa ne scelus esse putet,
ut quod vos seitis, poenae quoque sentiat auctor.
40 placato possum non miser esse deo."
hac prece adoravi superos ego, pluribus uxor,
singultu medios impediente sonos.
ilia etiam ante Lares ' passis adstrata capillis
contigit extinctos 2 ore tremente focos,
45 multaque in adversos effudit verba Penates
pro deplorato non valitura viro.
iamque morae spatium nox praccipitata negabat,
versaque ab axe suo Parrbasis Arctos erat.
quid faccrem ? blando patriae retinebar amore,
50 ultima sed iussae nox erat ilia fugae.
a ! quotiens aliquo dixi properante " quid urgues ?
vel quo festinas ire, vel unde, vide."
a ! quotiens certam me sum mentitus habere
horam, propositae quae foret apta viae.
55 ter limen tetigi, ter sum revocatus, et ipse
indulgens animo pes mihi tardus erat.
saepe " vale " dicto rursus sum multa locutus,
et quasi discedens oscula summa dedi.
saepe eadem mandata dedi meque ipse fefelli,
60 respiciens oculis pignora cara meis.
1 Lares] aras 2 extinctos] aeternos
1 i.e. had revolved about the pole-star, which is practicall
the axis of the constellation, cf. 2. 190; iii. 2. 2.
TRISTIA, I. in. 33-60
ye gods of this lofty city of Quirinus, whom
I must leave, receive from me this my saluta-
tion for all time ! And although too late I
take up the shield when wounded, yet disburden
of hatreds this banishment of mine ; tell to that
man divine what error beguiled me, that he may not
think a fault to be a crime and that what you
know he too, the author of my punishment, may
feel. If the god be appeased I cannot be
wretched."
41 With such prayer as this I appealed to the gods,
my wife with many more, the sobs interrupting her
cries half uttered. She even cast herself with
flowing hair before the Lares, touching the cold
hearth with quivering lips and pouring forth to the
Penates before her many words not destined to
avail the spouse she mourned.
47 Now night hurrying to her close refused me
time for lingering, and the Parrhasian bear had
wheeled about her axis.1 What was I to do ? The
enthralling love of country held me, yet that was
the last night before the exile that had been decreed.
Alas ! how many times did I say, as somebody
hastened by, " Why do you hurry me ? Consider
whither you are hastening or whence ! " Alas !
how many times did I falsely say that I had a definite
hour suited to my intended journey. Thrice I
touched the threshold, thrice did something call
me back, and my very feet moved slowly to gratify
my inclination. Oft when I had said farewell
once again I uttered many words, and as if I were
in the act of setting forth I gave the final kisses.
Oft I gave the same parting directions, thus beguiling
myself, with backward look at the objects of my
23
OVID
denique " quid propero ? Scythia est, quo mittimur,"
inquam,
" Roma relinquenda est. utraque iusta mora est.
uxor in aeternum vivo mihi viva negatur,
et domus et fidae dulcia membra domus,
65 quosque ego dilexi fraterno more sodales,
o mihi Thesea pectora iuncta fide !
dum licet, amplectar : numquam fortasse licebit
amplius. in lucro est quae datur hora mihi/'
nee mora, sermonis verba inperfecta relinquo,
70 complectens animo proxima quaeque meo.
dum loquor et flemus, caelo nitidissimus alto,
Stella gravis nobis, Lucifer ortus erat.
dividor haud aliter, quam si mea membra relinquam,
et pars abrumpi corpore visa suo est.
76 sic doluit Mettus1 tune cum in contraria versos
ultores habuit proditionis equos.
turn vero exoritur clamor gemitusque meorum,
et feriunt maestae pectora nuda manus.
turn vero coniunx umeris abeuntis inhaerens
80 miscuit haec lacrimis tristia verba meis :
" non potes avelli. simul hinc, simul ibimus," inquit,
" te sequar et coniunx exulis exul ero.
et mihi facta via est, et me capit ultima tellus :
accedam profugae sarcina parva rati.
85 te iubet e patria discedere Caesaris ira,
me pietas. pietas haec mihi Caesar erit."
talia temptabat, sicut temptaverat ante,
vixque dedit victas utilitate manus.
1 Priamus
1 She remained in Rome to work for the poet's recall.
24
TRISTIA, I. in. 61-88
love. At last I said, " Why hasten ? Tis Scythia
whither I am going, 'tis Rome that I must leave.
Both are good reasons for delay. My wife lives and
1 live, but she is being denied me forever and my
home and the sweet inmates of that faithful home,
and the comrades I have loved with a brother's
love, O hearts knit to me with Theseus' faith !
Whilst I may I will embrace you. Never more
perhaps shall I have the chance. The hour granted
me is so much gain."
69 No longer delaying I left my words unfinished
and embraced each object dearest to my heart.
During my talk and our weeping, bright in the
lofty sky Lucifer had arisen, to me a baneful star.
I was torn asunder as if I were leaving my limbs
behind — a very half seemed broken from the body
to which it belonged. Such was the anguish of
Mettus when the steeds were driven apart, punishing
his treachery. Then in truth arose the cries and
laments of my people ; sorrowing hands beat upon
naked breasts. Then in truth my wife, as she hung
upon my breast at parting, mingled these sad words
with my tears, " I cannot suffer you to be torn away.
Together, together we will go ; I will follow you
and be an exile's exiled wife. For me too the
journey has been commanded, for me too there is
room in the faraway land. My entrance will add
but a small freight to your exile ship. You are
commanded to flee your country by Caesar's wrath,
I by my loyal love. This love shall be for me a
Caesar."
87 Such was her attempt, as it had been before,
and with difficulty did she surrender her resolve
for my profit.1 I set forth— if it was not rather
25
OVID
egredior, sive illud erat sine funere ferri,
90 squalidus inmissis hirta per ora comis.
ilia dolor e amens tenebris narratur obortis
semianimis media procubuisse dorno,
utque resurrexit foedatis pulvere turpi
crinibus et gelida membra levavit humo,
95 se modo, desertos modo complorasse Penates,
nomen et erepti saepe vocasse viri,
nee gemuisse minus, quam si nataeque meumque1
vidisset structos corpus habere rogos,
et voluisse mori, moriendo ponere sensus,
100 respectuque tamen non periisse mei.
vivat, et absentem, quoniam sic fata tulerunt,
vivat ut 2 auxilio sublevet usque suo.
IV.
Tinguitur oceano custos Erymanthidos ursae,
aequoreasque suo sidere turbat aquas,
nos tamen Ionium non nostra findimus aequor
sponte, sed audaces cogimur esse metu.
5 me miserum ! quantis increscunt aequora ventis,
erutaque ex imis fervet harena fretis !
monte nee inferior prorae puppique recurvae
insilit et pictos verberat unda deos.
pinea texta sonant, pulsi 3 stridore rudentes,
10 ingemit et nostris ipsa carina malis.
navita confessus gelidum pallore timorem,
iam sequitur victus, non regit arte ratem.
utque parum validus non proficientia rector
cervicis rigidae frena remittit equo,
1 virique 2 et corr. Salmasius * pulsu Rothmaler
1 BoOtes.
2 The figures painted or carved on the stern.
26
TRISTIA, I. in. 89— iv. 14
being carried forth to burial without a funeral —
unkempt, my hair falling over my unshaven cheeks.
She, frenzied by grief, was overcome, they say, by
a cloud of darkness, and fell half dead in the midst
of our home. And when she rose, her tresses fouled
with unsightly dust, raising her body from the cold
ground, she lamented now her deserted self, now
the deserted Penates, and often called the name of
her ravished husband, groaning as if she had seen
the bodies of her daughter and myself resting on
the high-built pyre ; she wished to die, in death
to lay aside all feeling, yet from regard for me she
did not die. May she live ! and when I am far
away — since thus the fates have willed — so live as
by her aid to bring constant relief.
IV. ON THE DEEP
The guardian1 of the Erymanthian bear dips in
ocean and with his setting stars makes stormy the
waters of the sea. Yet I am cleaving the Ionian
waves not of my own will but forced to boldness
through fear. Wretched me ! what mighty winds
swell the waters, casting up the seething sand from
the lowest depths ! Mountain-high upon prow and
out-curving stern leaps the billow lashing the painted
gods.2 The pine-wrought fabric resounds, and the
ropes, whipped by the shrieking wind, and the very
keel groans over my woes. The sailor confessing
by his pale face a chilling fear now in defeat humours
the craft, no longer skilfully guiding her. As a
rider who is not strong enough lets the ineffective
reins fall loose upon the stubborn neck of his horse,
27
OVID
15 sic non quo voluit, sed quo rapit impetus undae,
aurigam video vela dedisse rati.
quod nisi mutatas emiserit Aeolus auras,
in loca iam nobis non adeunda ferar.
nam procul Illyriis laeva de parte relictis
20 interdicta mihi cernitur Italia.
desinat in vetitas quaeso contendere terras,
et mecum magno pareat aura deo.
dum loquor, et timeo pariter cupioque 1 repelli,
increpuit quantis viribus unda latus !
25 parcite caerulei, vos parcite numina ponti,
infestumque mihi sit satis esse lovem.
vos animam saevae fessam subducite morti,
si modo, qui periit, non periisse potest.
V.
O mihi post nullos umquam 2 memorande sodales,
et cui praecipue sors mea visa sua est,
attonitum qui me, memini, carissime, primus
ausus es adloquio sustinuisse tuo,
5 qui mihi consilium vivendi mite dedisti,
cum foret in misero pectore mortis amor,
scis bene, cui dicam, positis pro nomine signis,
officium nee te fallit, amice, tuum.
haec mihi semper erunt imis infixa medullis,
10 perpetuusque animae debitor huius ero,
spiritus et vacuas prius hie tenuandus in auras
ibit, et in tepido deseret ossa rogo,
1 timeo cupio nimiumque vel cupio pariter timeoque
2 ullos numquam
28
TRISTIA, I. iv. 15— v. 12
so not where he wishes but where the billow's power
carries him our charioteer, I see, has given the ship
her head. And unless Aeolus changes the winds
he sends forth, I shall be driven to a region that I
must not now approach, for Illyria's shores are far
behind on the left and forbidden Italy is beginning
to appear. I pray the wind may cease its striving
towards a forbidden land and may unite with me
in obedience to the mighty god.1 Whilst I speak,
at once afraid and eager to be driven back,
with what mighty power the waves have set her
beam to creaking ! Mercy, ye gods of the dark
sea, mercy! Let it suffice that Jupiter 1 is angered
against me. Save ye my weary life from cruel death,
if only 'tis possible for one already dead2 not to
die!
V. To A FAITHFUL FRIEND
You who shall never be named after any of my
comrades, you who above all made my lot your
own, who were the first, dearest one, I remember,
to dare to support me with words of comfort after
the bolt had struck, who gave me the gentle counsel
to live when my wretched breast was filled with the
love of death, — you know well to whom I am speak-
ing by means of these symbols substituted for your
name, nor are you unaware, my friend, of your own
service. These things shall ever remain fixed in
my inmost heart and I will be an everlasting debtor
for this life of mine, my spirit shall be dispersed
in the empty air leaving my bones on the warm
1 Augustus.
2 Ovid often likens his exile to death.
29
OVID
quam subeant animo meritorum oblivia nostro,
et longa pietas excidat ista die.
15 di tibi sint faciles, tibi di l nullius egentem
fortunam praesterit dissimilemque meae.
si tamen haec navis vento ferretur amico,
ignoraretur forsitan ista fides.
Thesea Pirithous non tarn sensisset amicum,
20 si non infernas vivus adisset aquas,
ut foret exemplum veri Phoceus amoris,
fecerunt furiae, tristis Oresta, tuae.
si non Euryalus Rutulos cecidisset in hostes,
Hyrtacidae Nisi gloria nulla foret.
25 scilicet ut fulvum spectatur in ignibus aurum,
tempore sic duro est inspicienda fides.
dum iuvat et vultu ridet Fortuna sereno,
indelibatas cuncta sequuntur opes :
at simul intonuit, fugiunt, nee noscitur ulli,
30 agminibus comitum qui modo cinctus erat.
atque haec, exemplis quondam collecta priorurn,
nunc mihi sunt propriis cognita vera rnalis.
vix duo tresve mihi de tot superestis amici ;
cetera Fortunae, non mea turba fuit.
35 quo magis, o pauci, rebus succurrite laesis,
et date naufragio litora tuta meo,
neve metu falso nimium trepidate, timentes,
hac offendatur ne pietate deus !
saepe fidem adversis etiam laudavit in armis,
40 inque suis amat hanc Caesar, in hoste probat.
causa mea est melior, qui non contraria fovi
arma, sed hanc merui simplicitate fugam.
1 et opis vel sisui : tibi di Ehwald
1 Pyladea.
2 On the causes of Ovid's exile see Introd. pp. xviii if.
30
TRISTIA, I. v. 13-42
pyre ere forgetfulness of your deserving steals into
my heart and that loyalty of yours falls away from
it through length of time. May the gods be gracious
to you ; to you may the gods grant a lot that craves
the aid of no one, — a lot unlike mine.
17 And yet if this bark of mine were being borne
on by a friendly breeze, perchance that loyalty
of yours would be unknown. Theseus' friendship
would not have been so keenly felt by Pirithous if
he had not gone while still alive to the waters below.
That the Phocean1 was a model of sincere love
was due to thy madness, gloomy Orestes. If
Euryalus had not fallen in with the Rutulian foe,
Hyrtacian Nisus would have had no renown. 'Tis
clear that as tawny gold is tested in the flames so
loyalty must be proved in times of stress. While
Fortune aids us and a smile is upon her calm face,
all things follow our unimpaired resources. But at
the first rumble of the thunder they flee, and nobody
recognizes him who but now was encircled with troops
of comrades. This, which once I inferred from the
examples of former men, now I know to be true
from my own woes. Scarce two or three of you,
my friends, once so many, remain to me ; the rest
were Fortune's following, not mine. And so, few
though ye are, run all the more to aid my injured
state and provide a secure shore for my shipwreck.
Tremble not over much with false fear lest this
loyalty give offence to our god. Ofttimes faith
even among his enemies in arms has been praised
by Caesar ; when it exists among his own, he loves
it ; in an enemy he approves it. My case is still
more favourable since I did not nurse strife against
him, but earned this exile by my simplicity.2 Do you,
31
OVID
invigiles igitur nostris pro casibus, oro,
deminui siqua * numinis ira potest.
45 scire meos casus siquis desiderat omnes,
plus, quam quod fieri res sinit, ille petit,
tot mala sum passus, quot in aethere sidera lucent
parvaque quot siccus corpora pulvis habet ;
multaque credibili tulimus maiora ratamque,
60 quam vis acciderint, non habitura fidem.
pars etiam quaedam mecum moriatur oportet,
meque velim possit dissimulante tegi.
si vox infragilis, pectus mihi firmius aere,2
pluraque cum linguis pluribus ora forent,
65 non tamen idcirco complecterer omnia verbis,
materia vires exsuperante meas.
pro duce Neritio docti mala nostra poetae
scribite : Neritio nam mala plura tuli.
ille brevi spatio multis erravit in annis
60 inter Dulichias Iliacasque domos :
nos freta sideribus totis distantia mensos
sors tulit3 in Geticos Sarmaticosque sinus,
ille habuit fidamque manum sociosque fideles :
me profugum comites deseruere mei.
65 ille suam laetus patriam victorque petebat :
a patria fugi victus et exul ego.
nee mihi Dulichium domus est Ithaceve Samosve,
poena quibus non est grandis abesse locis,
sed quae de septem totum circumspicit orbem
70 montibus, imperii Roma deumque locus,
illi corpus erat durum patiensque laborum :
invalidae vires ingenuaeque mihi.
ille erat assidue saevis agitatus in armis :
adsuetus studiis mollibus ipse fui.
1 q nunc L 2 heret vel esset corr. 5"
8 sors tulit r : detulit
TRISTIA, I. v. 43-74
then, watch on behalf of my fortunes, I beg of you, if
in any way the wrath of the deity can be lessened.
45 If anyone desires to know all my fortunes he
seeks more than the circumstances permit. I have
endured woes as many as the stars that shine in
heaven, or the grains that the dry dust holds ; many
have I borne too great to be believed and not
destined to find credence, although they have
really befallen me. A part, too, might well perish
with me, and I wish that, since I would veil them,
they might be hidden. If I had a tireless voice,
lungs stronger than brass, and many mouths with
many tongues, not even so could I embrace them
all in words, for the theme surpasses my strength.
Ye learned poets, write of my evils instead of the
Neritian hero's l ! for I have borne more than the
Neritian. He wandered over but a narrow space in
many years — between the homes of Dulichium and
Ilium ; I, after traversing seas whole constellations
apart, have been carried by fate to the bays of the
Getae and Sarmatians. He had a faithful band of true
companions ; I in my flight have been abandoned
by my comrades. He was seeking his native land
in joy and victory ; I have fled mine, vanquished
and an exile. My home is not Dulichium or Ithaca
or Samos,2 places from which absence is no great
punishment, but Rome, that gazes about from her
seven hills upon the whole world,— Rome, the place
of empire and the gods. He had a frame sturdy
and enduring of toil ; I have but the frail strength
of one gently nurtured. He had been constantly
engaged in fierce warfare ; I have been used to
1 Odysseus, so-called from Mount Neritus in Ithaca.
2 i.e. Same, an isle belonging to Odysseus.
D 33
OVID
76 me deus oppressit, nullo mala nostra levante :
bellatrix illi diva ferebat opem.
cumque minor love sit tumidis qui regnat in undis,
ilium Neptuni, me lovis ira premit.
adde, quod illius pars maxima ficta labor um,
80 ponitur in nostris fabula nulla malis.
denique quaesitos tetigit tamen ille Penates,
quaeque diu petiit, contigit arva tamen :
at mihi perpetuo patria tellure carendum est,
ni fuerit laesi mollior ira dei.
VI.
Nee tantum Clario est Lyde dilecta poetae,
nee tantum Coo l Bittis 2 amata suo est,
pectoribus quantum tu nostris, uxor, inhaeres,
digna minus misero, non meliore viro.
5 te mea supposita veluti trabe fulta ruina est :
siquid adhuc ego sum, muneris omne tui est.
tu facis, ut spolium non sim, nee nuder ab illis,
naufragii tabulas qui petiere mei.
utque rapax stimulante fame cupidusque cruoris
10 incustoditum oaptat ovile lupus,
aut ut edax vultur corpus circumspicit ecquod
sub nulla positum cernere possit humo,
sic mea nescio quis, rebus male fid us acerbis
in bona venturus, si paterere, fuit.
15 hunc tua per fortis virtus summovit amicos,
nulla quibus reddi gratia digna pot est.
ergo quam misero, tarn vero teste probaris,
hie ali quod pondus si modo testis habet.
1 Coo] Clario 2 battis corr. Mfrkel
1 Pallas Athene (Minerva).
34
TRISTIA, I. v. 75— vi. 18
softer pursuits, I was crushed by a god and nobody
lightened my sorrows ; to him the goddess l of war
brought aid. And though the king of the swelling
waves is inferior to Jove, he was oppressed by
Neptune's wrath, I by that of Jove. Moreover, the
largest part of his labours is fiction ; in my woes no
myth resides. And finally — he reached the home
of his quest, attaining the fields he long had sought.
But I must be forever deprived of my native land,
unless the wrath of the injured god be softened.
VI. To His WIFE
Not so great was the love of the Clarian bard 2
for Lyde or that of her own Coan 3 for Bittis as the
love that clings in my heart for thee, rny wife,
for thee wl)o art worthy of a less wretched, not a
better, husband. Upon thee as upon a supporting
pillar my ruins rest ; if even now anything of me
exists, it is all thy gift. Tis thy doing that I am
not plundered nor stripped bare by those who have
attacked the timbers of my wreckage. As the wolf
ravening under the goad of hunger and eager for
blood strives to catch the sheepfold unguarded, or
as the hungry vulture peers about for the possible
sight of some unburied corpse, so there was one,
treacherous in my bitter fortune, who, hadst thou
suffered it, would have come into my wealth. Him
thy courage has repelled with the aid of spirited
friends whom I can never thank as they deserve.
Thus thou art approved by a witness as sincere as
he is wretched, — if only such a witness carries any
2 Antimachus. 8 Philetas.
35
OVID
nee probitate tua prior est aut Hectoris uxor,
20 aut comes extincto Laodamia viro.
tu si Maeonium vatem sortita fuisses,
Penelopes esset fa ma secunda tuae :
sive tibi hoc debes, nullo1 pia facta magistro,
cumque nova mores sunt tibi luce dati,
25 femina seu princeps omnes tibi culta per annos
te docet exemplum coniugis esse bonae,
adsimilemque sui longa adsuetudine fecit,
grandia si parvis adsimulare licet,
ei mihi, non magnas quod habent mea carmina vires,
30 nostraque sunt meritis ora minor a tuis ! —
siquid et in nobis vivi fuit ante vigoris,
extinctum longis occidit omne malis ! —
prima locum sanctas heroidas inter haberes,
prima bonis animi conspicerere tui.
35 quantumcumque tamen praeconia nostra valebunt,
carminibus vives tempus in omne meis.
VII.
Siquis habes nostris similes in imagine vultus,
deme meis hederas, Bacchica serta, comis.
ista decent laetos felicia signa poetas :
temporibus non est apta corona meis.
5 hoc tibi dissimula, senti tamen, optime, dici,
in digito qui me fersque refersque tuo,
1 null!
1 Andromache.
2 Livia, wife of Augustus, is here called princeps femina,
as her husband was called princeps (civitatis).
8 Possibly Brutus. See Introa. p. xv.
4 The first four lines are a general injunction to all who
36
TRISTIA, L vi. 19— vn. 6
weight. In uprightness neither Hector's wife 1
excels thee, nor Laodamia, companion of her husband
in death. If fate had allotted thee the Maeonian
bard, Penelope's fame would be second to thine,
whether thou owest this to thyself, schooled to
loyalty by no teacher, and such character was given
thee with life's earliest dawn, or whether that first
of women,2 reverenced by thee through all the years,
teaches thee to be the model of a good wife and
by long training has made thee like herself— if 'tis
lawful to liken great things to small. Alas that great
power lies not in my song and my lips cannot match
thy merits ! — if ever in former times I had aught of
quickening vigour, all has been extinguished by my
long sorrows ! — else thou wouldst hold first place amid
the revered heroines, first wouldst thou be looked
upon because of thy qualities of heart. Yet so far
as my praise has power, thou shalt live for all time
in my song.
VII. THE METAMORPHOSES
Whoever you3 may be who possess a portrait of
my features, remove from my locks the ivy, the
chaplet of Bacchus. Such fortunate symbols are
suited to happy poets ; a wreath becomes not my
temples.4 Hide the fact — yet feel it, too, — that
this is said to you, my best of friends, who carry
me about on your finger, and, clasping my image
possessed likenesses of the poet such as, for example,
crowned busts (imagines) which were a common ornament
of libraries. Vv. 5 ff. are addressed directly to the recipient
of this letter.
37
OVID
effigiemque meam fulvo complexus in auro
cara relegati, quae potes, ora vides.
quae quotiens spectas, subeat tibi dicere forsan
10 " quam procul a nobis Naso sodalis abest ! "
grata tua est pietas. sed carmina maior imago
sunt mea, quae mando qualiacumque legas,
carmina mutatas hominum dicentia formas,
infelix domini quod fuga rupit opus.
15 haec ego discedens, sicut bene multa meorum,
ipse mea posui maestus in igne manu.
utque cremasse suum fertur sub stipite natum
Thestias et melior matre fuisse soror,
sic ego non meritos mecum peritura libellos
20 imposui rapidis viscera nostra rogis :
vel quod eram Musas, ut crimina nostra, perosus,
vel quod adhuc crescens et rude carmen erat.
quae quoniam non sunt penitus sublata, sed extant-
pluribus exemplis scripta fuisse reor —
25 nunc precor ut vivant et non ignava legentem
otia delectent admoneantque mei.
nee tamen ilia legi poterunt patienter ab ullo,
nesciet his summam siquis abesse manum.
ablatum mediis opus est incudibus illud,
30 defuit et scriptis ultima lima meis.
et veniam pro laude peto, laudatus abunde,
non fastiditus si tibi, lector, ero.
hos quoque sex versus, in prima l fronte libelli
si praeponendos esse putabis, habe :
35 " orba parente suo quicumque volumina tangis,
his saltern vestra detur in urbe locus.
1 prima] primi Heinsius
1 The Metamorphoses. 2 Althaea. See Index.
8 i.e. Rome, where you can still live.
38
TRISTIA, I. vii. 7-36
on the tawny gold, see the dear face — all that you
can see — of an exile. Whenever you gaze upon
it, you may perchance feel prompted to say, " How
far away is our comrade Naso ! " There is comfort
in your love. But my verses are a more striking
portrait, and these I bid you read however poor
they are — the verses that tell of the changed forms
of men,1 the work broken off by the unfortunate
exile of their master.
15 These verses upon my departure, like so much
that was mine, in sorrow I placed with my own
hand in the fire. Just as Thestius' daughter 2
burned her own son, they say, in burning the branch,
and proved a better sister than mother, so 1 placed
the innocent books consigned with me to death, my
very vitals, upon the devouring pyre, because I
had come to hate the Muses as my accusers or
because the poem itself was as yet half grown and
rough. These verses were not utterly destroyed ;
they still exist — several copies were made, I think
— and now I pray that they may live, that thus my
industrious leisure may bring pleasure to the reader
and remind him of me. And yet they cannot be
read in patience by anybody who does not know
that they lack the final hand. That work was
taken from me while it was on the anvil and my
writing lacked the last touch of the file. Indulgence,
then, instead of praise I ask ; I shall have abundance
of praise if you do not disdain me, reader. Receive
these six lines also, if you think them worthy to be
placed at the very head of the book : —
35 " All you who touch these rolls bereft of their
father, to them at least let a place be granted in
your 3 city ! And your indulgence will be all the
39
OVID
quoque magis faveas, haec non sunt edita ab ipso,
sed quasi de doinini funere rapta sui.
quicquid in his igitur vitii rude carmen habebit,
40 emendaturus, si licuisset, eram."
VIIL
In caput alta suum labentur ab aequore retro
flumina, conversis Solque recurret equis :
terra feret Stellas, caelum findetur aratro,
unda dabit flammas, et dabit ignis aquas,
5 omnia naturae praepostera legibus ibunt,
parsque suum mundi nulla tenebit iter,
omnia iam fient, fieri quae posse negabam,1
et nihil est, de quo non sit habenda fides,
haec ego vaticinor, quia sum deceptus ab illo,
10 laturum misero quern mihi rebar opem.
tantane te, fallax, cepere oblivia nostri,
afflictumque fuit tantus adire timor,
ut neque respiceres nee solarere iacentem,
dure, nee exequias prosequerere meas ?
16 illud amicitiae sanctum et venerabile nomen
re tibi pro vili sub pedibusque iacet ?
quid fuit, ingenti prostratum mole sodalem
visere et adloquiis 2 parte levare ttiis,
inque meos si non lacrimam demittere casus,
20 pauca tamen ficto verba dolore pati,3
idque, quod ignoti faciunt, vel dicere 4 saltern,
et vocem populi publicaque ora sequi, —
denique lugubres vultus numquamque videndos
cernere supremo dum licuitque die,
1 negabat (negabant s~) vel negabit
2 alloquii . . . sui (tui) corr. Ekwald
8 loqui * vale dicere corr. Merkel
40
TRISTIA, I. vii. 37— vin. 24
greater because these were not published by their
master, but were rescued from what might be
called his funeral. And so whatever defect this
rough poem may have I would have corrected, had
it been permitted me."
VIII. To A TRAITOROUS FRIEND
To their sources shall deep rivers flow, back
from the sea, and the sun, wheeling his steeds,
shall hurry backwards ; the earth shall support stars
and the sky shall be cloven by the plough, water
shall produce flame and flame water ; all things
shall proceed reversing nature's laws and no part
of the universe shall keep its path ; everything
that I once called impossible shall now take place,
and there is nothing that one ought not to believe.
All this I prophesy because I have been deceived
by that man who I thought would bring aid to me
in my wretchedness.
11 Treacherous one, did you forget me so utterly
or were you so afraid to approach me in my mis-
fortune that you did not regard or comfort me in my
downfall, cruel man, or become one of my funeral
escort ? Does the sacred and revered name of
friendship lie, a cheap thing, beneath your feet ?
What trouble was it to visit a comrade overwhelmed
by a mighty disaster, to do your part in relieving
him with words of comfort, and if not to let fall a
tear at my misfortune, yei to suffer a few words of
feigned sorrow to escape you and, as even strangers
do, at least to say something, to copy the people's
speech, the public phrases — in fine to look upon
my sad features never to be seen again, on the last
OVID
25 dicendumque semel toto non amplius aevo
accipere, et parili reddere voce " vale " ?
at fecere alii nullo mihi feeder e iuncti,
et lacrimas animi signa dedere sui.
quid, nisi convictu causisque valentibus essem
30 temporis et longi iunctus amore tibi ?
quid, nisi tot lusus et tot mea seria nosses,
tot nossem lusus seriaque ipse tua ?
quid, si dumtaxat Romae mihi cognitus esses,
ascitus totiens in genus omne loci ?
35 cunctane in aequoreos abierunt irrita ventos ?
cunctane Lethaeis mersa feruntur aquis ?
non ego te genitum placida reor urbe Quirini,
, urbe meo quae iam non adeunda pede est,1
sed scopulis, Ponti quos haec habet or a sinistri,
40 inque feris Scythiae Sarmaticisque iugis :
et tua sunt silicis circum praecordia venae,
et rigidum ferri semina pectus habet,
quaeque tibi quondam tenero ducenda palato
plena dedit nutrix ubera, tigris erat :
45 aut mala nostra minus quam nunc aliena putares,
duritiaeque mihi non agerere reus.
sed quoniam accedit fatalibus hoc quoque damnis,
ut careant numeris tempora prima suis,
effice, peccati ne sim memor huius, et illo
50 officium laudem, quo queror, ore tuum.
IX.
Detur inoffenso vitae tibi fcangere metam,
qui legislioc nobis non inimicus opus.
1 pede est] mihi
1 The conjecture that this friend was Carus is improbable.
See Introd. p. xv.
TRISTIA, I. vm. 25— ix. 2
Lay, whilst you might, and to hear the " Farewell "
lever more to be uttered in all time and to return it
;o me in a like tone ? Others did this who were
xrnnd to me by no tie, and wept in token of their
eeling. What if in our common life there were
lot strong reasons for our union, and in our long
continued love ? What if you had not known so
many of my gay and serious moments, and I so
many of yours ? What if you had known me merely
at Rome — you who have so often been my comrade
in all sorts of places ? Have all these things been in
vain, vanishing into the winds that blow over the
sea ? Are they all carried away, drowned in Lethe's
waters ? You were not born, I think, in Quirmus*
peaceful city, the city that my feet must enter
nevermore, but of the crags which stand upon this
coast of the ill-omened Pontus, or in the cruel
mountains of Scythia and Sarmatia. Your heart
also is girt with veins of flint, and seeds of iron are
implanted in your unyielding breast. She who once
nursed you, offering full udders to be drained by your
tender throat, was a tigress ; or else you would think
my woes less foreign to you than you now do, nor
would you stand accused by me of hardheartedness.
47 But since this also has been added to my fated
ills, that those early years fall short of consummation,
see to it that I forget this sin and praise your service
with the same lips with which I now complain.
IX. To A STEADFAST FRIEND l
Be it your lot to reach life's goal without stumbling
— you who read this work of mine in no unfriendly
43
OVID
atque utinam pro te possent mea vota valere,
quae pro me duros non tetigere deos !
5 donee eris sospes,1 multos numerabis amicos :
tempora si fuerint nubila, solus eris.
aspicis, ut veniant ad Candida tecta columbae,
accipiat nullas sordida turris aves.
horrea formicae tendunt ad inania numquam :
10 nullus ad amissas ibit amicus opes.
utque comes radios per solis euntibus umbra est,
cum latet hie pressus nubibus, ilia fugit,
mobile sic sequitur Fortunae lumina vulgus :
quae simul inducta nocte teguntur, abit.
16 haec precor ut semper possint tibi falsa videri ;
sunt tamen eventu vera fatenda meo.
dum stetimus, turbae quantum satis esset, habebat
nota quidem, sed non ambitiosa domus.
at simul impulsa est, omnes timuere ruinam,
20 cautaque communi terga dedere fugae.
saeva neque admiror metuunt si fulmina, quorum
ignibus adflari proxima quaeque solent.
sed tamen in duris remanentem rebus amicum
quamlibet 2 inviso Caesar in hoste probat,
25 nee solet irasci — neque enim moderatior alter —
cum quis in adversis, siquid amavit, amat.
de comite Argolici 3 postquarp cognovit Orestis,
narratur Py laden ipse probasse Thoas.
quae fuit Actoridae cum magno semper Achille,
30 laudari solita est Hectoris ore fides.
quod pius ad Manes Theseus comes iret amico,
Tartareum dicunt indoluisse deum.
1 felix 2 qualibet vel quolibet corr. 5"
* argolico corr. Heinsius
44
TRISTIA, I. ix. 3-32
spirit. Would that in your behalf my prayers may
prevail which in my own did not affect the cruel gods !
So long as you are secure you will count many
friends ; if your life becomes clouded you will be
alone. You see how the doves come to a white
dwelling, how an unclean tower harbours no birds.
Ants seek a granary, but an empty one never : no
friend will approach when wealth is lost. As a
shadow accompanies those who pass through the
rays of the sun, but when the sun is hidden, hemmed
in by clouds, the shadow vanishes, so the fickle
crowd follows the light of good fortune, but, when
once the veil of darkness covers it, the crowd is
gone. I pray this may always seem untrue to you,
yet from my fate its truth must be admitted.
Whilst I stood upright, my house, well known
indeed but courting no honours, found enough to
throng it. Yet, as soon as the shock came all men
feared its fall and discreetly turned their backs in
common flight. I wonder not if they dread the
fierce lightnings whose flames are wont to blast
everything nearby ; nevertheless a friend who is
steadfast in times of stress is approved by Caesar
in the case of an enemy, however he may hate him,
and he is not wont to be angry — for no other shows
greater restraint— when one continues in adversity
to love whatever he has loved before. After hearing
the tale of Argive Orestes' comrade, even Thoas,
they say, approved of Pylades. The unwavering
loyalty of Actor 's grandson 1 for mighty Achilles
was wont to be praised by Hector's lips. When
loyal Theseus accompanied his friend to the shades,
they say the god 2 of Tartarus was grieved. When
1 Patroclus. 2 Pluto.
45
OVID
Euryali Nisique fide tibi, Turne, relata
credibile est lacrimis inmaduisse genas
35 est etiam miseris pietas, et in hoste probatur.
ei mihi, quam paucos haec mea dicta mo vent !
is status, haec rerum nunc est fortuna mearum,
debeat ut lacrimis nullus adesse modus,
at mea sunt, proprio quamvis maestissima casu,
40 pectora processu fa eta serena tuo.
hoc eventurum iam turn, carissirne, vidi,
ferret adhuc istam l cum minus aura ratem.
sive aliquod morum seu vitae labe carentis
est pretium, nemo pluris emendus erat :
45 sive per ingenuas aliquis caput extulit artes —
quaelibet eloquio fit bona causa tuo.
his ego commotus dixi tibi protinus ipsi
" scaena manet dotes grandis, amice, tuas/5
haec mihi non ovium fibrae tonitrusve sinistri,
50 linguave servatae pennave dixit avis :
augurium ratio est et coniectura futuri :
hac divinavi notitiamque tuli.
quae quoniam vera est, tota tibi mente mihique
gratulor, ingenium non latuisse tuum.
55 at nostrum tenebris utinam latuisset in imis !
expediit studio lumen abesse meo.
utque tibi prosunt artes, facunde, severae,
dissimiles illis sic nocuere mihi.
vita tamen tibi nota mea est. scis artibus illis
60 auctoris mores abstinuisse sui :
scis vetus hoc iuveni lusum mihi carmen, et istos
ut non laudandos, sic tamen esse iocos.
1 ista
1 The Ars amalorla.
46
TRISTIA, I. ix. 33-62
they told you, Turnus, of the fidelity of Nisus and
Euryalus, we may believe that your cheeks were
moist with tears. There is loyalty even for the
unfortunate and it finds approval even in an enemy.
Ah me ! how few do these words of mine affect !
Such is my condition, such is now the state of my
affairs that there should be no measure to my tears.
Yet my heart, in the depths of grief from its own
disaster, has been calmed by your advancement.
This I saw approaching, dear one, as early as the
time when the breeze was as yet bearing onward
that bark of yours less swiftly. If there is a reward
for character or for a life without blemish, nobody
was more highly to be prized ; or if anyone lias by
liberal arts achieved prominence, you have eloquence
which renders every cause a good one. Moved by
this I said at once to you, " A mighty stage awaits
thy gifts." This was told me by no sheep's liver
or thunder on my left or the note or wing of a bird
I had observed ; it is an augury and inference of
the future based on reason : by this I made my
divination and gained my knowledge.
63 Since this proves true, with my whole heart I
congratulate you and myself that your ability has
not been obscured. But mine ! would it had been
obscured in the depths of darkness ! It had been
best that light had failed my pursuit. And just
as you are aided, my eloquent friend, by serious
arts, so arts unlike them have injured me. Yet
my life is well known to you ; you know that
with those arts their author's character had no con-
nexion ; you know that this poem l was written long
ago, an amusement of my youth, and that those
jests, though not deserving praise, were still mere
47
OVID
ergo ut defend! nullo mea posse colore,
sic excusari crimina posse puto.
65 qua potes, excusa, nee amici desere causam :
qua bene coepisti, sic bene semper eas.
X.
Est mihi sitque, precor, flavae tutela Minervae,
navis et a picta casside nomen habet.
sive opus est velis, minimam bene currit ad auram,
sive opus est remo, remige carpit iter.
5 nee comites volucri contenta est vincere cursu,
occupat egressas quamlibet ante 1 rates,
et pariter fluctus fert ac salientia 2 longe
aequora, nee saevis victa madescit aquis.
ilia, Corinthiacis primum mihi cognita Cenchreis,
10 fida manet trepidae duxque comesque fugae,
perque tot eventus et iniquis concita ventis
aequora Palladio numine tuta fuit.
nunc quoque tuta, precor, vasti secet ostia Ponti,
quasque petit, Getici litoris intret aquas.
15 quae simul Aeoliae mare me deduxit in Helles,
et longum tenui Hmite fecit iter,
fleximus in laevum cursus, et ab Hectoris urbe
venimus ad portus, Imbria terra, tuos.
1 qualibet arte corr. <T
2 ferit (fert) atque silentia vel assilientia corr. Vogel
1 The stern of Ovid's ship was apparently adorned with a
figure of Minerva clad in armour. Such a figure was called
a tutela, ** protecting emblem."
2 Ovid reached Corinth by way of the Adriatic and the
Corinthian Gulf. He crossed the Isthmus and boarded
this ship at Cenchreae whence he continued his voyage to
Samothrace. There he left the ship (which continued to
48
TRISTIA, I. ix. 63— x. 18
jests. So then although my crimes can be de-
fended by no plea however brilliant, yet an excuse
can be made for them, I think. As far as you can,
make that excuse ; do not abandon the cause of a
friend. On this condition may you ever travel
happily along the road upon which you have happily
set out.
X. THE EXILE'S JOURNEY
I have, and pray that I may always have, the
protection of golden-haired Minerva, and my bark
draws her name from an emblazoned 1 helmet. If
sails be needed, she runs well at the touch of the
lightest breeze, or if oars, the rowers speed her on
her way. She is not content to outstrip in winged
course her companions : she overhauls the craft
that set out no matter how long before ; alike she
bears the currents and the far-leaping billows ; she
is no leaky craft overwhelmed by the raging seas.
Her I knew first at Corinthian Cenchreae 2 and she
remained the faithful guide and comrade of my
anxious flight, safe through the power of Pallas
amid so many fortunes, amid waves roused by the
cruel gales. Now too I pray she may safely cut
her path through the gates of the wide Pontus and
reach the waters of her goal by the Getic shore.
16 As soon as she brought me to the sea of Aeolian
Helle,3 cleaving her long journey with slender
furrow, I turned my course to the left, away from
Hector's city, and came to thy port, land of Imbros,
Tomis, w. 24-42) and took another for Tempvra, near the
Thracian coast, whence he passed by land to 1 omis.
8 The Hellespont.
E 49
OVID
inde, levi vento Zerynthia litora nacta,
20 Threlciam tetigit fessa carina Samon.
saltus ab hac contra brevis est Tempyra petenti :
hac dominum tenus est ilia secuta suum.
nam mihi Bistonios placuit pede carpere campos :
Hellespontiacas ilia relegit l aquas
25 Dardaniamque petit, auctoris nomen habentem,
et te ruricola, Lampsace, tut a deo,
quodque per angustas vectae male virginis undas
Seston Abydena separat urbe fretum,
inque Propontiacis haerentem Cyzicon oris,
30 Cyzicon, Haemoniae nobile gentis opus,
quaeque tenent Ponti Byzantia litora fauces :
hie locus est gemini ianua vasta maris.
haec, precor, evincat, propulsaque fortibus Austris
transeat instabilis strenua Cyaneas
35 Thyniacosque sinus, et ab his per Apollinis urbem
arta 2 sub Anchiali moenia tendat iter.
inde Mesembriacos portus et Odeson et arces
praetereat dictas nomine, Bacche, tuo,
et quos Alcathoi memorant e moenibus ortos
40 sedibus his profugos constituisse Larem.
a quibus adveniat Miletida sospes ad urbem,
offensi quo me detulit ira dei.
haec si contigerint, meritae cadet agna Minervae :
non facit ad nostras hostia maior opes.
1 reliquit : relegit S~
2 apta vel alta vel vecta : arta 5"
1 Samothrace, on the north side of which was the Zeryn-
thian cave of Hecate. 2 Priapus. 3 Helle.
4 Founded by the Argonaut Aeneus, from Haemonia
(Thessaly).
6 The famous Symplegades, at the entrance to the Pontus,
rocks which clashed together upon ships which ventured
between them ; see v. 4t and Index.
50
TRIST1A, I. x.
whence reaching the Zerynthian shore with a light
breeze my wearied keel touched the Thracian
Samos.1 From here 'tis but a short leap for one
who seeks Tempyra on the opposite coast : thus
far only did my bark attend her master. For it
was my resolve to pick my way on foot through the
Bistonian land ; she coasted back through the
waters of the Hellespont seeking Dardania, bearing
the name of its founder, and thee, Lampsacus,
secure through the protection of the country-loving
god,2 and the strait of that maiden 3 all too insecurely
carried through the narrow waters — the strait that
separates Sestos from Abydos' town — and Cyzicos
clinging to the shores of Propontis, Cyzicos, the
famed work of the Haemonian race,4 and Byzantium's
shores, that hold the entrance to the Pontus, the
huge doorway of twin seas. Through all these may
she win her way, and driven by the sturdy breeze may
she have power to pass the shifting Cyaneae,5 and
the Thynian bay, and after may she hold her course
past Apollo's city 6 and close beneath the narrow
walls of Anchialus. Thence may she pass the port of
Mesembria and Odesos, and the citadel 7 called after
thy name, Bacchus, and those exiles from Alcathous'
walls, who, so 'tis said, placed on this site their
home. From their land may she come in safety
to the Milesian city 8 whither the wrath of an angered
god has dispatched me.
43 If this but happen, a lamb shall fall in sacrifice
to deserving Minerva ; a larger victim ill becomes
6 Apollonia, on the west coast of the Pontus, where lay
also the other towns mentioned in vv. 35-40.
7 Probably Dionysopolis. The town of Alcathous was
Bizone.
8 Tomis, a colony of Miletus, cf. TV. iii. 9.
51
OVID
45 vos quoque, Tyndaridae, quos haec colit insula, fratres,
mite precor duplici numen adesse l viae !
altera namque parat Symplegadas ire per artas,
scindere Bistonias altera puppis aquas,
vos facite ut ventos, loca cum di versa petamus,
50 ilia suos habeat, nee minus ilia suos.
XL
Littera quaecumque est toto tibi lecta libello,
est mini sollicito tempore facta viae.
aut haec me, gelido tremerem cum mense Decembri,
scribentem mediis Hadria vidit aquis ;
5 aut, postquam bimarem cursu superavimus Isthmon,
alteraque est nostrae sumpta carina fugae,
quod facerem versus inter fera murmura ponti,
Cycladas Aegaeas obstipuisse puto.
ipse ego nunc 2 miror tantis animique marisque
10 fluctibus ingenium non cecidisse meum.
seu stupor huic studio sive est insania nomen,
omnis ab hac cura cura levata 3 mea est.
saepe ego nimbosis dubius iactabar ab Haedis,
saepe minax Steropes sidere pontus erat,
15 fuscabatque diem custos Atlantidos Ursae,
aut Hyadas seris hauserat Auster aquis,
saepe maris pars intus erat ; tamen ipse trementi
carmina ducebam qualiacumque manu.
1 adeste 2 ego nunc] etenim
8 cura levata] mens relevata
1 Castor and Pollux, worshipped by sailors. Ovid writes
in Samothrace.
2 Ovid means that he wrote mechanically as one dazed
(stupor). 8 Bootes.
4 Ovid seems to mean that rainy Auster combined with the
52
TRISTIA, I. x. 45— XL 18
my poor resources. Ye too, brother Tyndaridae,1
whom this isle worships, attend in propitious power
our twofold way ; for one craft makes ready to
pass through the narrow Symplegadae, the other
to plough Bistonia's waters. Make ye the winds,
though different the places we seek, favour the one
and no less favour the other !
XL EPILOGUE
Every letter that you have read in my whole
book was formed by me during the troubled days
of my journey. Either the Adriatic saw me writing
these words in the midst of his waters, while I
shivered in cold December, or when I had passed
in my course the Isthmus with its two seas and had
taken the second ship of my journey into exile, my
writing of verses amid the wild roar of the sea
brought wonder, I think, to the Aegean Cyclades.
I myself now marvel that amid such turmoil of my
soul and of the sea my powers did not fail. But
whether " trance " 2 or " madness " be the name for
this pursuit, 'twas by such pains that all my pain
was lightened. Often my perilous tossing was
caused by the storm-bringing Kids, often the con-
stellation of Sterope made the sea to threaten, or
the day was darkened by the guardian 3 of the
Atlantian bear, or Auster had drawn from the
Hyades an autumnal flood.4 Often part of the sea
was within our ship ; nevertheless, with shaking hand
I continued to spin my verses such as they were.
setting Hyades (in November, a time of rain) to produce a
down pour.
53
OVID
nunc quoque content! stridunt Aquilone rudentes,
20 inque modum tumuli concava surgit aqua,
ipse gubernator tollens ad sidera palmas
exposcit votis, inmemor artis, opem.
quocumque aspexi, nihil est nisi mortis imago,
quanx dubia timeo mente timensque precor.
25 attigero portum, portu terrebor ab ipso :
plus habet infesta terra timoris aqua,
nam simul insidiis hominum pelagique laboro,
et faciunt geminos ensis et unda metus.
ille meo vereor ne speret sanguine praedam,
30 haec titulum nostrae mortis habere velit.
barbara pars laeva est avidaeque adsueta rapinae,1
quam cruor et caedes bellaque semper habent,
cumque sit hibernis agitatum fluctibus aequor,
pectora sunt ipso turbidiora mari.
35 quo magis his debes ignoscere, candide lector,
si spe sunt, ut sunt, inferiora tua.
non haec in nostris, ut quondam, scripsimus 2 hortis,
nee, consuete, meum, lectule, corpus habes.
iactor in indomito brumali luce profundo
40 ipsaque caeruleis charta feritur aquis.
improba pugnat hiems indignaturque quod ausim
scribere se rigidas incutiente minas.
vincat hiems hominem ! sed eodem tempore, quaeso,
ipse modum statuam carminis, ilia sui.
1 ad ethera penne vel substrata (substracta vel subtracta
etc.) rapinae : adsueta rapinae Haupt
2 scribimus
54
TRISTIA, I. xi. 19-44
Now too the ropes drawn taut by Aquilo are
shrieking, and like a hill swells the curving surge.
The very helmsman lifts his hands to the stars
imploring aid with prayer and forgetful of his skill.
Wherever I gaze there is naught but the presentment
of death that with wavering mind I fear and pray
for in my fear. Should I reach the harbour, the
very harbour will affright me : there is more to
dread upon the land than on the hostile sea. For
the snares of men and of the sea unite in causing
my woe ; the sword and the waves produce twin
fears. The one may look for booty through my
blood, I fear, whilst the other may wish to win
renown from my death. Wild is the shore on my
left, accustomed to the greed of robbers, ever filled
with bloodshed and murder and war, and though the
sea is shaken by stormy billows my breast is more
turbulent than the sea.
36 And so, kindly reader, you should grant me
the more indulgence if these verses are — as they
are — poorer than your hopes. They were not
written, as of old, in my garden or while you, my
familiar couch, supported my frame. I am tossing
of a winter's day on the stormy deep, and my paper
is sprayed by the dark waters. The vicious storm
battles, indignant that I dare to write whilst he is
brandishing against me his stern threats. Let the
storm vanquish the man ; but at the same time
that I end my verse, let him, I pray, reach his
own end.
55
LIBER SECUNDUS
Quid mihi vobiscum est, infelix cura, libelli,
ingenio peril qui miser ipse meo ?
cur modo damnatas repeto, mea crimina, Musas ?
an semel est poenam commeruisse parum ?
5 carmina fecerunt, ut me cognoscere vellet
omine non fausto femina virque meo :
carmina fecerunt, ut me moresque notaret
iam demi iussa l Caesar ab Arte mea.
deme mihi studium, vitae quoque crirnina demes ;
10 acceptum refero versibus esse nocens,
hoc pretium curae vigilatorumque laborum
cepimus : ingenio est poena reperta meo.
si saperem, doctas odissem iure sorores,
minima cultori perniciosa suo.
15 at nunc — tanta meo comes est insania morbo —
saxa malum refero rursus ad ista 2 pedem :
scilicet ut victus repetit gladiator harenam,
et redit in tumidas naufraga puppis aquas,
forsitan ut quondam Teuthrantia regna tenenti,
20 sic mihi res eadem vulnus opemque feret,
Musaque, quam movit, motam quoque leniet iram ;
exorant magnos carmina saepe deos.
1 demum visa 2 icta : ista S"
1 The Ars amatoria, which had been removed from the
public libraries. But the text is not certain.
2 The Muses. 8 Telephus. See Index.
56
BOOK II
THE POET'S PLEA
What have I to do with you, ye books, ill-
starred object of my toil, — I, ruined and wretched
through my own talent ? Why do I seek once
again the Muses so recently condemned, the causes
of my guilt ? Or is one well-earned penalty not
enough ? Verse gave men and women a desire to
know me, but 'twas no good omen for me ; verse caused
Caesar to brand me and my ways by commanding
that my " Art J>1 be forthwith taken away. Take
away from me my pursuit and you will take away
from my life also the charges against it. I lay the
charge of guilt against my verse. This is the reward
I have received for my work and my wakeful toil : a
penalty has been found for my talent. Were I wise I
should justly hate the learned sisters,2 the deities fatal
to their own votary. But as it is — such madness
accompanies my disease — I am once more bending
my unfortunate steps to those crags, just as the
vanquished gladiator seeks again the arena or the
battered ship returns to the surging sea.
19 Perchance, as once for him who ruled the
Teuthrantian kingdom,3 the same object will both
wound and cure me, and the Muse who aroused
the wrath will also soften it ; song often prevails
57
OVID
ipse quoque Ausonias Caesar matresque nurusque
carmina turrigerae dicere iussit Opi.
25 iusserat et Phoebo dici, quo tempore ludos
fecit, quos aetas aspicit una semel.
his precor exemplis tua nunc, mitissime Caesar,
fiat ab ingenio mollior ira meo.
ilia quidem iusta est, nee me meruisse negabo —
30 non adeo nostro fugit ab ore pudor —
sed nisi peccassem, quid tu concedere posses ?
materiam veniae sors tibi nostra dedit.
si, quotiens peccant homines, sua fulmina mittat
luppiter, exiguo tempore inermis erit ;
35 nunc ubi detonuit strepituque exterruit orbem,
purum discussis aera reddit aquis.
iure igitur genitorque deum rectorque vocatur,
iure capax mundus nil love maius habet.
tu quoque, cum patriae rector dicare paterque,
40 utere more dei nomen habentis idem.
idque facis, nee te qiiisquam moderatius umquam
imperil potuit frena tenere sui.
tu veniam parti superatae saepe dedisti,
non concessurus quam tibi victor erat.
45 divitiis etiam multos et honoribus auctos
vidi, qui tulerant in caput arma tuum ;
quaeque dies bellum, belli tibi sustulit iram,
parsque simul templis utraque dona tulit ;
utque tuus gaudet miles, quod vicerit hostem,
50 sic victum cur se gaudeat, hostis habet.
causa mea est melibr, qui nee contraria dicor
arma nee hostiles esse secutus opes.
1 The Secular Games. See Index. 2 Augustus.
58
TRISTIA, II. 23-52
on the mighty gods. Caesar himself bade the
mothers and daughters of Ausonia chant a hymn
to turret-bearing Ops. He commanded a hymn to
Phoebus also when he celebrated those games1
which each age views but once. Such precedents
now form the basis of my prayer, O merciful Caesar,
that my poetic gift may assuage thy wrath. Just
indeed it is— I will not deny that I have deserved it,
for shame has not so utterly fled my lips, But had I
not sinned, what leniency were it possible for thee
to display ? My fate has given thee the means of
mercy. If at every human error Jupiter should
hurl his thunderbolts, he would in a brief space be
weaponless. But as it is, when the roll of his thunder
has died away, affrighting the world with its roar,
he scatters the rain-clouds and clears the air. Just
it is, then, to call him the father and ruler of the
gods, just it is that in the spacious universe there
is naught mightier than Jove. Do thou 2 also,
seeing thou art called ruler and father of our native
land, follow the way of the god who has the same
title. And that thou dost ; no one has ever been
able to hold the reins of his power with more re-
straint. Thou hast often granted indulgence to a
conquered foe which he would not have granted to
thee had he been victor. Many even who had been
enhanced in riches and in honours have I seen direct
their arms against thee, and the day that ended
the battle ended for thee also the wrath of battle ;
both sides together made their gifts to the temples ;
and as thy soldiery rejoice to have vanquished the
enemy, so the enemy has reason to rejoice at his
defeat. My cause is a better one, for none assert
that I have followed arms opposed to thee, or hostile
59
OVID
per mare, per terras, per tertia numina iuro,
per te praesentem conspicuumque deum,
55 hunc animum favisse tibi, vir maxime, meque,
qua sola potui, mente fuisse tuum.
optavi, peteres caelestia sidera tarde,
parsque fui turbae parva precantis idem,
et pia tura dedi pro te, cumque omnibus unus
60 ipse quoque adiuVi publica vota meis.
quid referam libros, illos quoque, crimina nostra,
mille locis plenos nominis esse tui ?
inspice maius opus, quod adhuc sine fine tenetur,1
in non credendos corpora versa modos :
65 invenies vestri praeconia nominis illic,
invenies animi pignora multa mei.
non tua carminibus maior fit gloria, nee quo,
ut maior fiat, crescere possit, habet.
fama lovi superest : tamen hunc sua facta referri
70 et se materiam carminis esse iuvat,
cumque Gigantei memorantur proelia belli,
credibile est laetum laudibus esse suis.
te celebrant alii, quanto decet ore, tuasque
ingenio laudes uberiore canunt :
75 sed tamen, ut fuso taurorum sanguine centum,
sic capitur minimo turis honore deus.
a ! ferus et nobis 2 crudelior omnibus hostis,
delicias legit qui tibi cumque meas,
carmina ne nostris quae te venerantia libris
80 iudicio3 possint candidiore legi.
esse sed irato quis te mihi posset amicus ?
vix tune ipse mihi non inimicus eram.
1 tenetur] reliqui a nobis] nimium 8 indicio
1 Heaven. a Sec Metam. xv. 857 ft.
60
TRISTIA, II. 53-82
power. By sea, by earth, by the third power1 I
swear, by thee, a present and manifest deity, that
this soul of mine favoured thee, mightiest of men,
and that, wherein alone I could, in heart I have been
thine. I prayed that thou mightest make thy way
late to the stars of heaven, and I was an humble
member of the throng that uttered the same prayer ;
loyal incense I offered in thy behalf and with all the
rest I too aided the prayers of the state with my own.
61 Why should I say that my books, even those
which are my accusers, in a thousand passages
hold thy name ? Examine the greater work, which
is still kept unfinished, the book of figures trans-
formed in ways unbelievable ; thou wilt find praises
of thy name there,2 thou wilt find many pledges of
my loyalty. Thy glory is not made mightier by
song, nor has it room wherein to grow so as to be
made mightier. Jupiter has more than enough of
glory : yet is he pleased to have his deeds related
and himself become the theme of song, and when
the battles of his war with the Giants are told, we
may believe that he finds pleasure in his praises.
Thou art praised by others in a lofty style that
befits thee ; they sing thy praise with richer gifts
than mine ; but though a god be won by the out-
poured blood of a hundred bulls, yet is he also won
by the humblest offering of incense.
77 Alas ! harsh was he and a more cruel enemy to
me than all the rest, who read to thee my playful
verse, preventing any verse that honours thee in
my books from being read with a fairer judgment.
But when thou wert angry, who could have been
friendly to me ? Scarce could I at that time re-
frain from being an enemy to myself. When once
61
OVID
cum coepit quassata domus subsidere, partes
in proclinatas omne recumbit onus,
85 cunctaque fortuna rimam faciente dehiscunt,
inque l suo cladem pondere tracta ruunt.
ergo hominum quaesitum odium mi hi carmine,
quosque
debuit, est vultus turba secuta tuos.
at, memini, vitamque meam moresque probabas
90 illo, quern dederas, praetereuntis equo.
quod si non prodest et honesti gloria nulla
redditur, at nullum crimen adeptus eram.2
nee male commissa est nobis fortuna reorum
lisque 3 decem deciens inspicienda viris.
95 res quoque privatas statui sine crimine iudex,
deque mea fassa est pars quoque victa fide,
me miserum ! potui, si non extrema nocerent,
iudicio tutus non semel esse tuo.
ultima me perdunt, imoque sub aequore mergit
100 incolumem totiens una procella ratem.
nee mini pars nocuit de gurgite parva, sed omnes
pressere hoc fluctus oceanusque caput.
cur aliquid vidi ? cur noxia lumina feci ?
cur imprudenti cognita culpa mihi ?
105 inscius Actaeon vidit sine veste Dianam :
praeda fuit canibus non minus ille suis.
scilicet in superis etiam fortuna luenda est,
nee veniam laeso numine casus habet.
ilia nostra die, qua me malus abstulit error,
110 parva quidem periit, sed sine labe domus :
1 ipse . . . quodam corr. Vogel. z eram] erit
8 usque : lisque Heinsius
62
1 In tl^e annual procession of the knights.
TRISTIA, II. 83-110
a battered house has begun to settle, the whole
weight leans upon the yielding parts, — when fate
causes the first rift, the whole gapes apart and crashes
to destruction, dragged by its own weight. So
my verse has won me men's dislike ; the crowd, as
was right, have only guided themselves by the
expression of thy face.
89 And yet, I remember, thou wert wont to approve
my life and my ways when I passed before thee
with the steed thou hadst granted me.1 If that
avails me not, if no renown for what is honourable
is granted me, at least I had suffered no impeach-
ment. Nor was fate of those on trial wrongfully
entrusted to me, suits to be examined by the
centum virs. Private cases also I brought to settle-
ment, acting without criticism as referee ; and
even the defeated side admitted my good faith.
Wretched me ! were it not for the injury caused me
by recent events, I might be secure through more
than one judgment of thine. These last events
ruin me ; one blast sends to the bottom of the sea
the craft that has so many times been safe.
Tis no small part of the flood that has wrought me
harm, but all the billows of ocean have fallen upon
my head.
103 why did I see anything ? Why did I make
my eyes guilty ? Why was I so thoughtless as to
harbour the knowledge of a fault ? Unwitting was
Actaeon when he beheld Diana unclothed ; none
the less he became the prey of his own hounds.
Clearly, among the gods, even ill-fortune must be
atoned for, nor is mischance an excuse when a deity
is wronged. On that day when my ruinous mistake
ravished me away, my house, humble but stainless,
63
OVID
sic quoque parva tamen, patrio dicatur ut aevo
clara nee ullius nobilitate minor,
et neque divitiis nee paupertate notanda,
unde sit in neutrum conspiciendus eques.
115 sit 1 quoque nostra domus vel censu parva vel ortu,2
ingenio certe non latet ilia meo ;
quo videar quamvis nimium iuvenaliter usus,
grande tamen toto nomen ab orbe fero,
turbaque doctorum Nasonem novit et audet
120 non fastiditis adnumerare viris.
corruit haec igitur Musis accepta, sub uno
sed non exiguo crimine lapsa domus :
atque ea sic lapsa est, ut surgere, si modo laesi
ematuruerit Caesaris ira, queat,
125 cuius in eventu poenae dementia tanta est,
venerit ut nostro lenior ilia metu.
vita data est, citraque necem tua constitit ira,
0 princeps parce viribus use tuis !
insuper accedunt, te non adimente, paternae,
130 tamquam vita parum muneris esset, opes,
nee mea decreto damnasti facta senatus,
nee mea selecto iudice iussa fuga est.
tristibus invectus verbis — ita principe dignum —
ultus es offensas, ut decet, ipse tuas.
135 adde quod edictum, quamvis immite minaxque,
attamen in poenae nomine lene fuit :
quippe relegatus, non exul, dicor in illo,
privaque fortunae sunt ibi verba meae.
nulla quidem sano gravior mentisque potent!
140 poena est, quam tanto displicuisse viro ;
1 sit] si vel sic 2 ortu] astu
1 If the text is right, Ovid means that the language of th
64
TRISTIA, II. 111-140
was destroyed — humble indeed, but in our ancestors'
time 'tis said to have been illustrious and inferior
in fame to none, though noted neither for wealth
nor poverty, so that from it spring knights con-
spicuous for neither. But even if our house be
small in wealth and in origin, at least my genius
does not suffer it to be obscure. This I may have
employed in too youthful exuberance, yet my name
is great throughout the world ; a throng of the
cultured are well acquainted with Naso and venture
to count him with those whom they do not despise.
121 Fallen then is my house, though pleasing to
the Muses, beneath one charge albeit no small one —
yet so fallen that it can rise again, if only time shall
mellow the wrath of injured Caesar whose leniency
in the penalty that has befallen is such that the
penalty is milder than 1 feared. Life was granted
me ; thy wrath halted ere it achieved my death :
O sire, with what restraint hast thou used thy
power ! Then too there is added — for thou takest
it not away — my inherited wealth, as if life were too
small a gift. Thou didst not condemn my deeds
through a decree of the senate nor was my exile
ordered by a special court. With words of stern
invective — worthy of a prince — thou didst thyself,
as is fitting, avenge thine own injury. And thy
command, though severe and threatening, was yet
mild in naming my punishment, for it calls me
relegatus, not exile, and thou dost use therein language
especially adapted to my fate.1
139 No punishment indeed is heavier to one in
command of his senses than the displeasure of so
edict was not that which was customarily used but was
peculiar, especially in calling him relegatus (Introd. p. xviii).
F 65
OVID
sed solet interdum fieri placabile numen :
nube solet pulsa candidus ire dies,
vidi ego pampineis oneratam vitibus ulmum,
quae fuerat saevi fulmine tacta lovis.
145 ipse licet sperare vetes, sperabimus usque l ;
hoc unum fieri te prohibente potest.
spes mihi magna subit, cum te, mitissime princeps,
spes mihi, respicio cum mea facta, cadit.
ac veluti ventis agitantibus aera non est
150 aequalis rabies continuusque furor,
sed modo subsidunt intermissique silescunt,
vimque putes illos deposuisse suam :
sic abeunt redeuntque mei variantque timores,
et spem placandi dantque negantque tui.
155 per superos igitur, qui dant tibi longa dabuntque
tempora, Romanum si modo nomen amant,
per patriam, quae te tuta et secura parente est,
cuius, ut in populo, pars ego nuper eram, —
sic tibi, quern semper factis animoque mereris,
1GO reddatur gratae debitus urbis amor ;
Livia sic tecum sociales compleat annos,
quae, nisi te, nullo coniuge digna fuit,
quae si non esset, caelebs te vita deceret,
nullaque, cui posses esse maritus, erat ;
165 sospite sit tecum 2 natus quoque sospes, et olim
imperium regat hoc cum seniore senex ;
ut faciuntque tui, sidus iu venal e, nepotes,
per tua perque sui facta parentis cant ;
sic adsueta tuis semper Victoria castris
170 nunc quoque se praestet notaque signa pctat,
1 utque vel atque : usque Ihnistus
2 si tecum vel sic te sit corr. r
1 Tiberius; cf. alsoTJrTff!
2 Germanicus and Drusus the Younger.
66
TRISTIA, II. 141-170
mighty a man as thou ; yet 'tis common for a deity
to be appeased at times ; 'tis common for clouds to
scatter and the bright daylight to return. I have
seen an elm laden with the tendrils of a vine even
after it had been blasted by the thunderbolt of
angry Jove. Though thou dost thyself forbid me
to hope, I shall hope constantly ; this one thing
can be done in spite of thy command. Strong hope
comes upon me when I regard thee, most merciful
of princes, but hope fails me when I regard my
own deeds. As in the winds that buffet the air
there is no steady, no constant madness, but now
they decrease or are lulled to silence so that one
would suppose they had laid aside their powrer, in
this wise my fears depart, return, or change, giving
me or denying me hope of appeasing thee.
155 Wherefore by the gods above, who give and
will give thee long years, if only they love the Roman
race, by our native land which is safe and secure
under thy fatherly care, of which I as one among
the people was but recently a part ; so, I pray,
may there be duly paid thee by a grateful city that
debt of love which thy constant deeds and spirit
deserve ; so in union with thee may Li via fill out
her years — she whom no husband but thou deserved,
but for whose existence an unwedded life would
befit thee and there were none other whom thou
couldst espouse ; so, together with thy safety may
thy son l too be safe, and one day rule this empire,
an old man with one still older ; and may thy
grandsons,2 stars of the youth, still hold their course,
as now they do, through thy deeds and those of
their own sire ; so may Victory, always at home in
thy camp, now also present herself, seeking the
67
OVID
Ausoniumque ducem solitis circumvolet alls,
ponat et in nitida laurea serta coma,
per quern bella geris, cuius nunc corpore pugnas,
auspicium cui das grande deosque tuos,
175 dimidioque tui praesens es et aspicis l urbem,
dimidio procul es saevaque bella geris ;
hie tibi sic redeat superato victor ab hoste,
inque coronatis fulgeat altus equis, —
parce, precor, fulmenque tuum, fera tela, reconde,
180 heu nimium misero cognita tela mihi !
parce, pater patriae, nee nominis inmemor huius
olim placandi spem mihi tolle tui !
non precor ut redeam, quamvis maiora petitis
credibile est magnos saepe dedisse deos ;
185 mitius exilium si das propiusque roganti,
pars erit ex poena magna levata rnea.
ultima perpetior medios eiectus in hostes,
nee quisquam patria longius exul abest.
solus ad egressus missus septemplicis Histri
190 Parrhasiae gelido virginis axe premor —
Ciziges et Colchi Tereteaque 2 turba Getaeque
Danuvii mediis vix prohibentur aquis —
cumque alii causa tibi sint graviore fugati,
ulterior nulli, quam mihi, terra data est.
195 longius hac nihil est, nisi tantum frigus et hostes,
et maris adstricto quae coit unda gelu.
hactenus Kuxini pars est Romana sinistri :
proxima Basternae Sauromataeque tenent.
1 et (es) respicis : es et aspicis <T
2 inetereaque corr. Ellis
1 A different people from the Colchi who dwelt east o
the Pontus. Perhaps 191-193 should he transposed afte
198, c/. Owen, Trist., 1889, pp. xcv-xcvi.
68
TRISTIA, II. 171-198
standards so well known to her, hovering with
familiar wings about the Ausonian leader and
placing the laurel wreath upon the shining hair of
him through whom thou dost wage wars, in whose
person thou art now doing battle, to whom thou dost
grant thy lofty auspices and thy gods and thus art
half present, keeping watch o'er the city, and half
far away conducting savage wars ; so may he return
to thee after conquering the foe, and be seen in
radiance high on a garlanded car — oh spare me, I
pray, and hide away thy thunderbolt, cruel weapon,
alas ! but too well known to wretched me ! Spare
me, father of our country ! Do not. forgetful of
this name, take from me the hope that sometime I
may appease thee ! I pray not for return, even
though we may believe that more than the prayer
has oft been granted by the mighty gods. Grant
me a milder and a nearer place of exile, and a large
part of my punishment will be lightened.
187 I am now enduring the extreme, thrust forth
into the midst of enemies ; no exile is farther from
his native land. I alone have been sent to the
mouths of the seven-streamed Hister, I am crushed
beneath the Parrhasian virgin's icy pole. The
Ciziges, the Colchi,1 the hordes of Teretei, and the
Getae are scarce fended off by the interposition of
the Danube's waters. Though others have been
exiled for weightier cause, a more remote land has
been assigned to no one ; nothing is farther away
than this land except only the cold and the enemy
and the sea whose waters congeal with the frost.
Here is the end of Rome's domain on the ill-omened
Euxine's shore ; hard by the Basternae and Sauro-
matae hold sway. This land comes last of all beneath
69
OVID
haec est Ausonio sub iure novissima vixque
200 haeret in imperil margine terra tui.
unde precor supplex ut nos in tuta releges,
ne sit cum patria pax quoque adempta mihi,
ne timeam gentes, quas non bene summovet Histcr,
neve tuus possim civis ab hoste capi.
205 fas prohibet Latio quemquam de sanguine natum
Caesaribus salvis barbara vincla pati.
perdiderint cum me duo crimina, carmen et error,
alterius facti culpa silenda mihi :
nam non sum tanti, renovem ut tua vulnera, Caesar,
210 quern nimio plus est indoluisse semel.
altera pars superest, qua turpi carmine factus
arguor obsceni doctor adulterii.
fas ergo est aliqua caelestia pectora falli,
et sunt notitia multa minora tua ;
215 utque deos caelumque simul sublime tuenti
non vacat exiguis rebus adesse lovi,
de te pendentem sic dum circumspicis orbem,
effugiunt curas inferiora tuas.
scilicet imperii princeps statione relicta
220 imparibus legeres carmina facta modis ?
non ea te moles Romani nominis urguet,
inque tuis umeris tarn leve fertur onus,
lusibus ut possis advertere numen ineptis,
excutiasque oculis otia nostra tuis.
225 nunc tibi Pannonia est, nunc Illyris ora domanda,
Raetica nunc praebent Thraciaque arma me turn,
nunc petit Armenius pacem, nunc porrigit arcus
Parthus eques timida captaque signa manu,
1 The Ars amatoria.
70
TRISTIA, II. 199-228
Ausonian law, clinging with difficulty to the very
edge of thy empire.
201 And so I offer a suppliant's prayer that thou
wilt banish me to a safe abode — that together with
my fatherland peace also be not taken from me,
that I may not fear the tribes which the Hister
holds insecurely in check, that I, thy subject, be not
within an enemy's power to capture. Right forbids
that anyone of Latin blood should suffer barbarian
bondage while Caesars live.
207 Though two crimes, a poem l and a blunder,
have brought me ruin, of my fault in the one I
must keep silent, for my worth is not such that I
may reopen thy wounds, O Caesar ; 'tis more than
enough that thou shouldst have been pained once.
The other remains : the charge that by an obscene
poem I have taught foul adultery. 'Tis possible
then, somehow, for divine minds to be deceived, for
many things to be beneath thy notice. As Jove
who watches at once o'er the gods and the lofty
heaven has not leisure to give heed to small things,
so whilst thou dost gaze about upon the world that
depends upon thee, things of less moment escape
thy care. Shouldst thou, forsooth, the prince of
the world, abandon thy post and read songs of mine
set to unequal measure ? That weight of the Roman
name does not lay so light a burden upon thy
shoulders that thou canst direct thy divine attention
to silly trifles, examining with thine own eye the
product of my leisure hours. Now Pannoiiia, now
the Illyrian shore must be subdued by thee, now
the wars in Raetia or Thrace bring thee anxiety ;
now the Armenian seeks peace, now the Parthian
horseman extends to thee with timorous hand his
71
OVID
nunc te prole tua iuvenem Germania sentit,
230 bellaque pro magno Caesare Caesar obit ;
denique, ut in tanto, quantum non extitit umquam,
corpore pars nulla est, quae labet, imperii.
urbs quoque te et legum lassat tutela tuarum
et morum, similes quos cupis esse tuis.
235 nee l tibi contingunt, quae gentibus otia praestas,
bellaque cum multis inrequieta geris.
mirer in hoc igitur tantarum pondere rerum
te numquam nostros evoluisse iocos ?
at si, quod mallem, vacuum tibi forte 2 fuisset,
240 nullum legisses crimen in Arte mea.
ilia quidem fateor frontis non esse severae
scripta, nee a tanto principe digna legi :
non tamen idcirco legum contraria iussis
sunt ea Romanas erudiuntque nurus.
245 neve, quibus scribam, possis dubitare, libellos,
quattuor hos versus e tribus unus habet :
" este procul, vittae tenues, insigne pudoris,
quaeque tegis medios instita longa pedes !
nil nisi legitimum concessaque furta canemus,
250 inque meo nullum carmine crimen erit."
ecquid ab hac omnes rigide summovimus Arte,
quas stola contingi vittaque sumpta vetat ?
" at matrona potest alienis artibus uti,
quodque 3 trahat, quamvis non doceatur, habet."
255 nil igitur matrona legat, quia carmine ab omni
ad delinquendum doctior esse potest.
1 non 2 tibi forte] fortas.se 3 quoque
1 Tiberius.
2 See Ar» amat. i. 31-34. The verses are almost identical.
3 The instita was a border or ruffle woven to the lower
edge of the matron's dress (stola).
72
TRISTIA, II. 229-256
bow and the standards once he seized ; now through
thy son l Germany feels thy youthful vigour, and a
Caesar wars for a mighty Caesar. In fine, though
the body of the empire is vaster than has ever ex-
isted, no part is weak. The city also wearies thee,
and the guardianship of thy laws and of the morals
which thou dost desire to be like thine own, nor to
thy lot falls that repose thou bestowest upon the
nations, for thou art waging many wars that allow
thee no rest.
237 Can I wonder, then, that under this weight of
great affairs thou hast never unrolled the volume
of my jests ? Yet if, as I could wish, thou hadst
chanced to have the leisure, thou wouldst have read
no crimes in my " Art." That poem, I admit, has
no serious mien, it is not worthy to be read by so
great a prince ; but not for that reason is it opposed
to the commandments of the law, nor does it offer
teaching to the daughters of Rome. And that thou
may'st not doubt for whom I write, one of the three
books contains these four verses : 2 " Far from me !
ye narrow fillets, badge of modesty ! and thou, long
ruffle 3 covering half the feet ! I shall sing of naught
but what is lawful, of loves which men allow. There
shall be in my song no sin." Have I not strictly ex-
cluded from this " Art " all women whom the assump-
tion of the robe and fillet of wedlock protect ?
253 But, thou mayst say, the matron can use arts
intended for others and draw therefrom instruction,
though she be not herself the pupil. Let the
matron read nothing then, for from every song
she can gain wisdom for sin. From whatever
73
OVID
quodcumque attigerit, siqua est studiosa sinistri,
ad vitium mores instruct inde suos.
sumpserit Annales — nihil est hirsutius illis —
260 facta sit unde parens Ilia, nempe leget.
sumpserit Aeneadum genetrix ubi prima, requiret,
Aeneadum genetrix unde sit alma Venus,
persequar inferius, modo si licet ordine ferri,
posse nocere animis carminis omne genus.
265 non tamen idcirco crimen liber omnis habebit :
nil prodest, quod non laedere possit idem,
igne quid utilius ? siquis tamen urere tecta
comparat, audaces instruit igne manus.
eripit interdum, modo dat medicina salutem,
270 quaeque iuvet, monstrat, quaeque sit herba nocens.
et latro et cautus praecingitur ense viator ;
ille sed insidias, hie sibi portat opem.
discitur innocuas ut agat facundia causas ;
protegit haec sontes, inmeritosque premit.
275 sic igitur carmen, recta si mente legatur,
constabit nulli posse nocere meum.
" at quasdam vitio." quicumque hoc concipit, errat,
et nimium scriptis arrogat ille meis.
ut tamen hoc fatear, ludi quoque semina praebent
280 nequitiae : tolli tota theatra iube !
peccandi causam multis quam1 saepe dederunt,
Martia cum durum sternit harena solum !
tollatur Circus ! non tuta licentia Circi est :
hie sedet ignoto iuncta puella viro.
1 multi quam vel quam multis corr. Riese
1 Probably the Annals of Ennius.
2 The opening words of Lucretius' De rerum natura.
The Romans often refer to a work by citing the first
words.
74
TRISTIA, II. 257-284
she touches, be she inclined to wrongdoing, she
will equip her character for vice. Let her take
up the Annals l — naught is ruder than they — she
will surely read by whom Ilia became a mother.
So soon as she takes up the " Aeneadum genetrix," 2
she will ask by whom fostering Venus became the
mother of the Aeneadae. I will show later, if only
I may present it in order, that it is possible for the
soul to be injured by every kind of poem. Yet not
on that account shall every book be guilty. Nothing
is useful which cannot at the same time be injurious.
What more useful than fire ? Yet whoever is
making ready to burn a house arms his criminal
hands with fire. Medicine sometimes removes,
sometimes bestows safety, showing what plant is
healthful, what harmful. Both the brigand and the
cautious wayfarer gird on a sword, but the one
carries it for treacherous attack, the other for his
own defence. Eloquence is learned for the conduct
of just causes ; yet it protects the guilty and crushes
the innocent. So then with verse : if it be read with
upright mind, it will be established that it can
injure nobody — even though it be mine.
277 " But there are certain women whom I deprave."
Whoever believes this is mistaken and attributes
too much to my works. Even should I admit this
charge, the games also furnish the seeds of wrong-
doing ; order the abolition of all the theatres ! A
pretext for sin has oft been found by many at the
time when the hard earth is covered with the sand
of Mars 3 ; abolish the Circus ! The license of the
Circus is not safe, for here a girl may sit close to a
3 i.e. the arena in which gladiatorial displays, etc.,
occurred.
75
OVID
285 cum quaedam spatientur in hoc,1 ut amator eodem 2
conveniat, quare porticus ulla patet ?
quis locus est templis augustior ? haec quoque vitet,
in culpam siqua est ingeniosa suam.
cum steterit lovis aede, lovis succurret in acde
290 quam multas matres fecerit ille deus.
proxima adoranti lunonis templa subibit,
paelicibus multis hanc doluisse deam.
Pallade conspecta, natum de crimine virgo
sustulerit quare, quaeret, Erich thonium.
295 venerit in magni templum, tua munera, Martis,
stat Venus Ultori iuncta, vir 3 ante fores.
Isidis aede sedens, cur hanc Saturnia, quaeret,
egerit lonio Bosphorioque mari.
in Venerem Anchises, in Lunam Latmius heros,
300 in Cererem lasion, qui referatur, erit.
omnia perversas possunt corrumpere mentes ;
stant tamen ilia suis omnia tuta locis.
et procul a scripta solis meretricibus Arte
summovet ingenuas pagina prima manus.
305 quaecumque erupit, qua non sinit ire sacerdos,
protinus huic 4 dempti criminis ipsa re a est.
nee tamen est facinus versus evolvere mollis ;
multa licet castae non facienda legant.
saepe supercilii nudas matrona severi
310 et veneris stantis ad genus omne videt.
corpora Vestales oculi meretricia cernunt,
nee domino poenae res ea causa fuit.
1 hac 2 eadcm 3 viro
4 haec ; huic Rothmaler
1 After the battle of Actium Augustus built a temple
to Mars, the Avenger.
* This probably refers to the statues of Venus Genetrix and
Mars by Arcesilaus. The goddess was depicted fully clothed,
perhaps in a man's armour, and Cupid was shown gliding
76
TRISTIA, II. 285-312
strange man. Since certain women stroll in them,
intent on meeting a lover there, why does any
portico stand open ? What place more dignified
than the temples ? But these too should be avoided
by any woman whose nature inclines to fault. When
she stands in Jupiter's temple, in Jupiter's temple
it will occur to her how many that god has caused
to be mothers.
291 As she worships in the neighbouring temple
of Juno, the thought will come upon her that many
rivals have caused this goddess wrath. When she
has looked on Pallas, she will ask why the virgin
brought up Erichthonius, the child of sin. If she
enters the temple of mighty Mars, thine own gift,1
Venus stands close to the Avenger, in the guise of
a man before the door.2 If she sit in Isis' fane, she
will ask why she was driven by Saturnia over the
Ionian sea and the Bosporus. Anchises will remind
her of Venus, the Latmian hero 3 of Luna, lasion of
Ceres. All things can corrupt perverted minds,
yet all those things stand harmless in their proper
places. Far from the " Art," written for courtesans
alone, its first page warns the hands of upright
women. Any woman who breaks away to a place
forbidden by a priest, forthwith removes from him
the sin and becomes herself guilty. Nevertheless
it is no crime to read tender verse ; the chaste may
read much that they should not do. Often matrons
of serious brow behold women nude, ready for
every kind of lust. The eyes of Vestals behold the
bodies of courtesans nor has that been the cause
of punishment to their owner.
down in such a way as to form a bond (iuncta) between the
divinities. 8 Endymion.
77
OVID
at cur in nostra nimia est lascivia Musa,
curve meus cuiquam suadet amare liber ?
315 nil nisi peccatum manifestaque culpa fatenda est :
paenitet ingenii iudiciique mei.
cur non Argolicis potius quae concidit armis
vexata est iterum carmine Troia meo ?
cur tacui Thebas et vulnera mutua fratrum,
320 et septeni portas, sub duce quamque suo ?
nee mihi materiam bellatrix Roma negabat,
et pius est patriae faeta referre labor,
denique cum meritis impleveris omnia, Caesar,
pars mihi de multis una canenda fuit,
325 utque trahunt oculos radiantia lumina solis,
traxissent animum sic tua facta meum.
arguor inmerito. tenuis mihi campus aratur ;
illud erat magnae fertilitatis opus,
non ideo debet pelago se credere, siqua
330 audet in exiguo ludere cumba lacu.
forsan — et hoc dubitem — numeris levioribus aptus
sim satis, in parvos sufficiamque modos :
at si me iubeas domitos lovis igne Gigantes
dicere, conantem debilitabit onus
335 divitis ingenii est immania Caesaris acta
condere, materia ne superetur opus,
et tarnen ausus eram ; sed detrectarc videbar,
quodque nefas, damno viribus esse tuis.
ad leve rursus opus, iuvenalia carmina, veni,
340 et falso movi pectus amore meum.
non equidem vellem. sed me mea fata trahebant,
inque meas poenas ingeniosus eram.
ei mihi, quod didiei ! cur me docuere parentes
litteraque est oculos ulla morata meos ?
1 Eteocles and Polynices.
78
TRISTIA, II. 313-34*
313 Yet why is my muse so wanton ? Why does
my book advise anybody to love ? There is naught
for me but confession of my error and my obvious
fault : 1 repent of my talent and my tastes. Why
rather did I not harass once again in my song Troy,
whieh fell before the Argive arms ? Why was I
silent of Thebes and the mutual wrounds of the
brothers,1 and the seven gates each under command
of its own leader ? Warlike Rome did not refuse
me a subject, arid 'tis a pious task to tell the story
of one's native land. In fine, since thou hast filled
the world with thy great deeds, Caesar, some one
part of those many should have been the theme
of my song, and as the glittering rays of the
sun attract the eye, so thy exploits would have
drawn forth my powers. Undeservedly am 1 blamed.
Poor is the field I plough ; that was a theme mighty
and fruitful. A skiff ought not to trust itself to the
sea just because it ventures to disport itself in a
little pool. Perhaps (even this I may doubt) I am
well enough suited to lighter verse, capable of humble
measures ; but if thou shouldst bid me sing of the
Giants conquered by Jove's lightning, the burden
will weaken me in the attempt. Only a rich mind
can tell the tale of Caesar's mighty deeds if the
theme is not to surpass the work. Even so I made the
venture, but methought I impaired the theme and —
an impious thing — wrought injury to thy might.
339 1 returned once more to my light task, the
songs of youth, stimulating my breast with fictitious
love. Would that I had not ! But my fate drew
me on to be clever to my own hurt. Alas that I
ever acquired learning ! Why did my parents teach
me ? Why did any letter ever beguile my eyes ?
79
OVID
345 hacc tibi me invisum lascivia fecit, ob artes,
quis ratus es vetitos sollicitare toros.
sed neque me nuptae didicerunt furta magistro,
quodque parum novit, nemo docere potest.
sic ego delicias et mollia carmina feci,
350 strinxerit ut nomen fabula nulla meum.
nee quisquam est adeo media de plebe maritus,
ut dubius vitio sit pater ille meo.
crede mihi, distant mores a carmine nostro —
vita verecunda est, Musa iocosa mea —
355 magnaque pars mendax operum est et ficta meorum :
plus sibi permisit cornpositore suo.
nee liber indicium est animi, sed honesta voluntas 1
plurima mulcendis auribus apta ferens.2
Accius esset atrox, conviva Terentius essct,
360 essent pugnaces qui fera bella eanunt.
denique composui teneros non solus amores :
composito poenas solus amore dedi.
quid, nisi cum multo Venerem confundere vino
praecepit lyrici Tei'a Musa senis ?
365 Lesbia quid docuit Sappho, nisi amare, puellas ?
tuta tamen Sappho, tutus et ille fuit.
nee tibi, Battiade, nocuit, quod saepe legenti
delicias versu fassus es ipse tuas.
fabula iucundi nulla est sine amore Menandri,
370 et solet hie pueris virginibusque legi.
Ilias ipsa quid est aliud nisi adultera, de qua
inter amatorem pugna virumque fuit ?
quid prius est illi flamma Briscidos, utque
fecerit iratos rapta puella duces ?
1 voluptas 2 feret vd fores : ferens r
1 359-360 are the conclusion of a condition, " if this were
not true," implied in 357-358.
80
TRISTIA, IL 345-374
This wantonness has caused thee to hate me on
account of the arts which thou didst think disturbed
unions that all were forbidden to attack. But no
brides have learned deceptions through my teach-
ing ; nobody can teach that of which he knows too
little. I have composed songs of pleasure and love
but in such fashion that no scandal has ever touched
my name. No husband exists even amid the common
people who doubts his fatherhood through sin of
mine. I assure you, my character differs from my
verse (my life is moral, my muse is gay), and most
of my work, unreal and fictitious, has allowed itself
more licence than its author has had. A book is not
an evidence of one's soul, but an honourable impulse
that presents very many things suited to charm the
ear. Else 1 would Accius be cruel, Terence a reveller,
or those would be quarrelsome who sing of fierce
war.
361 Moreover, not I alone have written tales of
tender love, but for writing of love I alone have
been punished. What but the union of love and
lavish wine was the teaching of the lyric muse of
the aged Tean bard 2 ? What did Lesbian Sappho
teach the girls if not love ? Yet Sappho was secure,
the Tean also was secure. It did not injure thee,
scion of Battus,3 that thou didst often in verse confess
to the reader thy wanton pleasures. No play of
charming Menander is free from love, yet he is
wont to be read by boys and girls. The very Iliad
— what is it but an adulteress about whom her lover
and her husband fought ? What occurs in it before
the flaming passion for Briseis and the feud between
the chiefs due to the seizure of the girl ? What is
2 Anacreon. 8 Callimachus.
G 81
OVID
375 aut quid Odyssea est nisi femina propter amorem,
dum vir abest, multis una petita prods ?
quis nisi Maeonides, Venerem Martemque ligatos
narrat, in obsceno corpora prensa toro ?
unde nisi indicio magni sciremus Homeri
380 hospitis igne duas incaluisse- deas ?
omne genus scripti gravitate tragoedia vincit :
haec quoque materiam semper amoris habet.
num quid l in Hippolyto, nisi caecae flamma novercae ?
nobilis est Canace fratris amore sui.
385 quid ? non Tantalides, agitante Cupidine currus,
Pisaeam Phrygiis vexit eburnus equis ?
tingueret ut ferrum natorum sanguine mater,
concitus a laeso fecit amore dolor,
fecit amor subitas volucres cum paelice regem,
390 quaeque suum luget nunc quoque mater Ityn.
si non Aeropen frater sceleratus amasset,
aversos Solis non legeremus equos.
impia nee tragicos tetigisset Scylla cothurnos,
ni patrium crinem desecuisset amor.
395 qui legis Electran et egentem mentis Oresten,2
Aegisthi crimen Tyndaridosque legis.
nam quid de tetrico referam domitore Chimaerae,
quern leto fallax hospita paene dedit ?
quid loquar Hermionen, quid te, Schoenela virgo,
400 teque, Mycenaeo Phoebas amata duci ?
1 namquid 2 orestcm
1 Penelope.
2 Circe and Calypso, who loved Ulysses.
3 Phaedra.
4 Pelops, who had an ivory shoulder.
e Medea. 6 Terms.
7 i.e. would never have become a theme for tragedy.
82
TRISTIA, II. 375-400
the Odyssey except the story of one woman l wooed
in her husband's absence for love's sake by many
suitors ? Who but the Maeonian tells of Venus
and Mars caught in bonds of unseemly love ? On
whose evidence but that of great Homer should we
know of two goddesses 2 on fire with passion for a
guest ?
381 Every kind of writing is surpassed in serious-
ness by tragedy, but this also constantly deals with
the theme of love. Is there aught in the Hippo-
lytus except the blind passion of a stepmother 3 ?
Canace's fame is due to her love for her brother.
Again, did not the ivory scion 4 of Tantalus, while
Cupid drove the car, bear away the Pisan maiden
with his Phrygian horses ? The mother 5 who
stained her sword with the blood of her children
was roused to the deed by the anger of slighted love.
Love suddenly transformed into birds the king 6
with his paramour, and that mother who still mourns
her son Itys. If her accursed brother had not
loved Aerope we should not read about the horses
of the Sun turning aside. Wicked Scylla would
never have touched the tragic buskin 7 had not love
caused her to sever her father's lock. You who
read of Electra and crazed Orestes are reading of
the guilt of Aegisthus and Tyndareus' daughter.8
Why should I tell of the dread conqueror 9 of the
Chimaera whom a deceitful hostess brought near to
death ? Why speak of Hermione, why of thee,
maiden daughter 10 of Schoeneus, and of thee,u
priestess of Phoebus, beloved by the Mycenean
8 Clytaemestra. 9 Bellerophon.
10 Atalanta. n Cassandra.
83
OVID
quid Danaen Danaesque nurum matremque Lyaei
Haemonaque et noctes cui coiere duae ?
quid Peliae generum, quidThesea, quique l Pelasgum
Iliacam tetigit de rate primus humum ?
405 hue lole Pyrrhique parens, hue Herculis uxor,
hue accedat Hylas Iliacusque puer.
tempore deficiar, tragicos si persequar ignes,
vixque meus capiet nomina nuda liber.
est et in obscenos commixta 2 tragoedia risus,
410 multaque praeteriti verba pudoris habet ;
nee nocet auctori, mollem qui fecit Achillem,
infregisse suis fortia facta modis.
iunxit Aristides Milesia crimina secum,
pulsus Aristides nee tamen urbe sua est.
415 nee qui descripsit corrumpi semina matrum,
Eubius, impurae conditor historiae,
nee qui composuit nuper Sybaritica, fugit,
nee qui concubitus non tacuere suos.
suntque ea doctorum monumentis mixta 3 virorum,
420 muneribusque ducum publica facta patent,
neve peregrinis tan turn defendar ab armis,
et Romanus habet multa iocosa liber,
utque suo Martem cecinit gravis Ennius ore —
Ennius ingenio maximus, arte rudis —
425 explicat ut causas rapidi Lucretius ignis,
casurumque triplex vaticinatur opus,
1 quidve vel quisve corr. Ehwald
2 deflexa 8 saxa vel texta
1 Agamemnon. 2 Andromeda.
8 Semele, mother of Bacchus.
4 Alcmena. 6 Admetus.
6 I'rotesilaus. 7 Deidamia.
8 Dejanira. ° Ganymede.
84
TRISTIA, II. 401-426
leader l ? Why of Danae and of Danae's daughter-
in-law,2 of the mother 3 of Lyaeus, of Haemon, and
of her 4 for whom two nights combined ? Why
speak of Pelias' son-in-law,6 of Theseus, and of him 6
who first of the Pelasgians touched the soil of Ilium ?
To these add lole, and the mother 7 of Pyrrhus,
the wife 8 of Hercules, Hylas, and the Ilian boy.9
Time will fail if I tell all the loves of tragedy, and
my book will scarce hold the bare names.
409 Xhere is too a tragedy involved in coarse
laughter, containing many terms of shamelessness ;
and the author 10 who depicted Achilles tender with
love does not suffer for having weakened by his verses
deeds of valour. Aristides connected the vices of
Miletus with himself, yet Aristides was not driven
from his own city. Neither Eubius, who described
the destruction of the mother's seed, the composer
of a foul tale, nor he u who recently wrote the
Sybaritica, were exiled, nor those who have not
concealed their own erotic adventures. And those
things exist among the memorials of learned men
and through the gifts of our leaders have become
public property open to all.12
421 And I need not defend myself with foreign
arms only, for Roman books also contain much that
is frivolous. Though Ennius lent his lips to the
serious strains of war — Ennius mighty in genius, rude
in art — though Lucretius sets forth the causes of
scorching flame and prophesies the destruction of
10 Unknown. The theme was probably Achilles' love for
Patroclus.
11 Hemitheon.
12 i.e. such compositions may be found in the public
libraries.
85
OVID
sic sua lascivo cantata est saepe Catullo
femina, cui falsum Lesbia nomen erat ;
nee contentus ea, multos vulgavit amores,
430 in quibus ipse suum fassus adulterium est.
par fuit exigui similisque licentia Calvi,
detexit variis qui sua furta l modis.
quid referam Ticidae, quid Memmi carmen, apud
quos
rebus adest nomen nominibusque pudor ?
435 Cinna quoque his comes est, Cinnaque procacior
Anser,
et leve Cornifici parque Catonis opus,
et quorum libris modo dissimulata Perillae,2
nomine, nunc legitur dicta, Metelle, tuo.
is quoque, Phasiacas Argon qui duxit in undas,
440 non potuit Veneris furta tacere suae.
nee minus Hortensi, nee sunt minus improba Servi
carmina. quis dubitet nomina lanta sequi ?
vertit Aristiden Sisenna, nee obfuit illi
historiae turpis inseruisse iocos.
445 non fuit opprobrio celebrasse Lycorida Gallo,
sed linguam nimio non tenuisse mero.
credere iuranti durum putat esse Tibullus,
sic etiam de se quod neget ilia viro.
fallere custodes idem 3 docuisse fatetur,
450 seque sua miserum nunc ait arte premi.
saepe, velut gemmam dominae signumve probaret,
per causam meminit se tetigisse manum ;
1 facta a per illos : Perillae r
8 custodem tandem (vel demum) corr. Francius
1 One of these was Ticidas, cf. Apuleius, Apol. 10.
2 Sec Index s.v. Perilla.
86
TRISTIA, II. 427-452
three elements, yet wanton Catullus sang oft of her
who was falsely called Lesbia, and not content with
her he noised abroad many other loves in which he
admitted his own intrigues. Equal in degree and
of the same kind was the licence of diminutive
Calvus, who revealed his own love adventures in
various metres. Why allude to the verse of Ticidas
or of Memmius, in whom things are named — with
names devoid of shame ? With them Cinna too
belongs and Anser, more wanton than Cinna, and the
light poems of Cornificius and of Cato, and those * in
whose books she who was but recently hidden be-
neath the name of Perilla 2 is now found called after
thy name, Metellus. He,3 too, who guided the
Argo to the waters of Phasis, could not keep silent
about his own adventures in love. Hortensius'
verses and those of Servius are not less wanton.
Who would hesitate to imitate these mighty names ?
Sisenna translated Aristides and was not harmed for
weaving in the tale coarse jests. It was no reproach
to Gallus that he gave fame to Lycoris, but that
from too much wine he did not restrain his tongue.
Tibullus 4 thinks it hard to believe his lady under
oath because she makes the same denials about
himself to her lord. He admits, too, teaching her
how to deceive her guard, saying that he is now in
his wretchedness overcome by his own ruse. Often
on the pretext of trying the gem and seal of his
mistress he recalls that he touched her Ijand ; he
8 Varro of A tax, who wrote an Argonautica.
4 In this passage (through v. 460) Ovid paraphrases parts
of Tibull. i. 5 and i. 6 in which the poet becomes the victim
at the hands of his faithless Delia of the very deceits he had
taught her.
87
OVID
utque refert, digitis saepe est nutuque locutus,
et tacitam mensae duxit in orbe notam ;
455 et quibus e sucis abeat de corpore livor,
impresso fieri qui solet ore, docet :
denique ab incauto nimium petit ille marito,
se quoque uti servet, peccet ut ilia minus,
scit, cui latretur, cum solus obambulet, ipsas l
460 cur 2 totiens clausas excreet ante fores,
multaque dat furti talis praecepta docetquc
qua nuptae possint fallere ab arte viros.
non fuit hoc illi fraudi, legiturque Tibullus
et placet, et iam te principe notus erat.
465 invenies eadem blandi praecepta Properti :
destrictus minima nee tamen ille nota est.
his ego successi, quoniam praestantia candor
nomina vivorum dissimulare iubet.
non timui, fateor, ne, qua tot iere carinae,
470 naufraga servatis omnibus una foret.
sunt aliis scriptae, quibus alea luditur, artes : —
hoc est ad nostros non leve crimen avos —
quid valeant tali, quo possis plurima iactu
1 ipse corr. Owen 2 cui vel qui : cur 5"
1 Perhaps quis for cur (ALW) : " who is coughing, etc.'*
Of. Tib. i. 5. 74 f.
2 i.e. Tibullus was expert in detecting the presence of a
rival.
« About 26 B.C.
4 Lines 4-71-482 are obscure because Ovid, writing for
readers familiar with the subject, uses technical terms and
gives only a hint or two to indicate each game. Even
with the help of the full evidence which has been collected
in such handbooks as Marquardt's Privatlfben der Romer,
ii. pp. 855 ff., and Becker-G5ll, Gallus, iii. pp. 455-480,
these games are far from being fully understood. Moreover
88
TRISTIA, II. 453-473
tells how ofttimes he spoke by means of his fingers
or by nods and drew inarticulate marks upon the
table's round ; and he teaches what lotions cause to
vanish from the body the bruises which are often
caused by the mouth's imprint : at last he prays her
all too careless partner to watch him also that so
her sins may be less frequent. He knows who
causes the barking, as a man strolls alone before
the house, why1 there is so much coughing just
before the closed door.2 He gives teachings of
many sorts for such an intrigue, showing brides by
what arts ladies can deceive their lords. This did not
injure him, for Tibullus is still read with favour ; he
was famous when thou wert first called prince.3
465 Thou wilt find the same teachings in alluring
Propertius ; yet not the least shame has touched
him. I was their successor, for generosity bids me
withhold the names of prominent living men. I
feared not, I admit, that where so many barks plied,
one only would be wrecked while all the rest were
safe.
471 Others have written of the arts of playing at
dice4 — this was no light sin in the eyes of our
ancestors — what is the value of the tali? with what
the text is not certain in vv. 474, 479. I have appended notes
based on such information as we have.
6 Roman dice were of two sorts : the tali, made from
bones of small animals and other materials, with four long
faces, two of which were broad (numbered 3, 4), two narrow
(1, 6); and the tesserae, cubical and marked in the same
way as our dice. The highest throw with the tali was the
Venus (1, 3, 4, 6), the lowest the Canis (four aces.) Three
(or two) tesserae, were usually employed, but we have no
trustworthy information concerning the highest and lowest
throws.
89
OVID
figere,1 damnosos effugiasque canes ;
475 tessera quos habeat numeros, distante vocato
mittere quo deceat, quo dare missa modo ;
discolor ut recto grassetur limite miles,
cum medius gemino calculus hoste perit,
ut bellare 2 sequens 3 sciat et revocare priorem,
480 nee tuto fugiens incomitatus eat ;
parva sit ut ternis4 instructa tabella lapillis,
in qua vicisse est continuasse suos ;
quique alii lusus — neque enim nunc persequar
omnes —
perdere, rein caram, tempora nostra solent.
1 fingere
2 mare (vel mage vel male) velle c.orr. Vogel 3 sequi
4 sed uternis (vel internis vel interius) corr. Ehwald
1 This probably refers to the game called ir\€t<TTofto\lv8a
(cf. plurlma iactu and valeanl) in which the highest throw
depended on the total number of units, cf. Pollux, ix. 95 and
117. Figere (fingere?) is a technical term not occurring
elsewhere.
2 Numeros seems to refer, not to the numbers on the dice,
but to the significance of these numbers in the game — the
44 count."
8 In 475-476 some scholars (e.g. Goll, Gallus, p. 475)
find a reference to the game called duodecim scripta, which
was in some respects like backgammon. It was played
on a board with 12 lines (duodecim scripta) with 15 pieces
on a side which were moved forwards and backwards accord-
ing to the throws of the dice. But it is more probable that
this couplet (and also Ars amat. iii. 355-356) refer to a game
in which there were several aides or contestants. Each
player had to decide at the throw of the dice which side or
player to 44 join" (subire), which to '* challenge (=vocare,
provocare), cf. Brandt on Ars amat. 353 f., 205. As in
duod. script, the moves were conditioned by the throws
90
TRISTIA, II. 474-484
throw one can make the highest point,1 avoiding
the ruinous dogs ; how the tessera is counted,2 and
when the opponent is challenged, how it is fitting
to throw, how to move according to the throws ; 3
how the variegated soldier steals to the attack along
the straight path when the piece between two
enemies is lost, and how he understands warfare by
pursuit and how to recall the man before him and
to retreat in safety not without escort ; 4 how a
small board is provided with three men on a side
and victory lies in keeping one's men abreast ; 5
and the other games — I will not now describe them
all — which are wont to waste that precious thing,
our time.
(dare mlssa). I take distante vocato, a phrase which has
given rise to many conjectures, as referring to the "challeng-
ing " of an adversary or side.
4 Vv. 477-480 refer to the ludus latrunculorum, a game
in some respects resembling chess but on the whole more
like draughts. It was played with 30 pieces on each side
on a board marked in squares. At least two kinds of
pieces can be distinguished: latrones (bdlatores, milites?),
*| officers," and others called collectively mandra, "herd,"
" drove," i.e. " pawns " (?). Some scholars consider the
milites to have been diiferent from the latrones. The
pieces or men were white, black, or (more commonly in the
case of the latrones) variegated. Some (the latrones ?) had
greater freedom of movement (vagi) than others (ordinarii)
but the only moves definitely known were straight forward
and backward. Some pieces could be checkmated and
these were then called inciti, and men could be " taken "
by being caught between two opponents. It was important
to advance men in pairs so as to support each other.
5 This game seems to have resembled a game of draughts
played with few men. It is mentioned also in Ars amat. iii.
365 f. and Isidor. Orig. xviii. 64. In the German Miihlespiel
(a sort of draughts) the detail of keeping three men close
together in a line is also present.
91
OVID
485 ecce canit formas alius iactusque pilarum,
hie artem nandi praecipit, ille trochi.
composita est aliis fucandi cura coloris ;
hie epulis leges hospitioque dedit ;
alter humum, de qua fingantur pocula, monstrat,
490 quaeque, docet, liquido testa sit apta mero.
talia luduntur fumoso mense Decembri,
quae damno nulli compos uisse fuit.
his ego deceptus non tristia carmina feci,
sed tristis nostros poena secuta iocos.
495 denique nee video tot de scribentibus unum,
quern sua perdiderit Musa ; repertus ego.
quid, si scripsissem mimos obscena iocantes,
qui semper vetiti l crimen amoris habent,
in quibus assidue cultus procedit adulter,
500 verbaque dat stulto callida nupta viro ?
nubilis hos virgo matronaque virque puerque
spectat, et ex magna parte senatus adest.
nee satis incestis temerari vocibus aures ;
adsuescunt oculi multa pudenda pati :
505 cumque fefellit amans aliqua novitate maritum,
plauditur et magno palma favore datur ;
quodque 2 minus prodest, scaena 3 est lucrosa poetae,
tantaque non parvo crimina praetor emit,
inspice ludorum sumptus, Auguste, tuorum :
610 empta tibi magno talia multa leges.
haec tu spectasti spectandaque saepe dedisti —
maiestas adeo comis ubique tua est —
1 victi vel iunctum : vetiti r
2 quoque 3 poena : scaena Heumann
1 The officials in charge of the games (aediles, praetors)
paid most of the expenses.
92
TRISTIA, II. 485-512
485 See, another tells in verse of the various forms of
balls and the way they are thrown ; this one instructs
in the art of swimming, that in the art of the hoop.
Others have composed works on tinting the com-
plexion, another has laid down rules for feasts and
entertaining ; still another describes the clay from
which bowls are fashioned, teaching what jar is
adapted to the clear wine. Such playful verses as
these are written in smoky December, but nobody
has been ruined for composing them. Beguiled by
such as these I wrote verse lacking in seriousness,
but a serious penalty has befallen my jests. In
fine, though so many have written, I see not one
who has been ruined by his own muse ; I am the
one who has been sought out.
497 What if I had written foul -jesting mimes
which always contain the sin of forbidden love, in
which constantly a well-dressed adulterer appears
and the artful wife fools her stupid husband ? These
are viewed by the marriageable maiden, the wife,
the husband, and the child ; even the senate in
large part is present. Nor is it enough that the
ear is outraged with impure words ; the eyes grow
accustomed to many shameful sights, and when
the lover has deceived the husband by some novel
trick, there is applause and he is presented amid
great favour with the palm. Because the stage is
not moral, it is profitable to the poet, and these great
immoralities are bought at no small price by the
praetor.1 Run over the expenses of thine own
games, Augustus, and thou wilt read of many things
of this sort that cost thee dear. These thou hast
thyself viewed and oft presented to the view of
others — so benign is thy majesty everywhere —
93
OVID
luminibusque tuis, totus quibus utitur orbis,
scaenica vidisti lentus adulteria.
615 scribere si fas est imitantes turpia mimos,
materiae minor est debita poena meae.
an genus hoc script! faciunt sua pulpita tutum,
quodque licet, mimis scaena licere dedit ?
et mea sunt populo saltata poemata saepe,
520 saepe oculos etiam detinuere tuos.
scilicet in domibus nostris l ut prisca virorum
artificis fulgent corpora picta manu,
sic quae concubitus varios venerisque figuras
exprimat, est aliquo parva tabella loco.
525 utque sedet vultu fassus Telamonius iram,
inque oculis facinus barbara mater habet,
sic madidos siccat digitis Venus uda capillos,
et modo maternis tecta videtur aquis.
bella sonant alii telis instructa cruentis,
530 parsque tui generis, pars tua facta canunt.
invida me spatio natura coercuit arto,
ingenio vires exiguasque dedit.
et tamen ille tuae felix Aeneidos auctor
contulit in Tyrios arma virumque toros,
535 nee legitur pars ulla magis de corpore toto,
quam non legitimo foedere iunctus amor.
Phyllidis hie idem teneraeque Amaryllidis ignes
bucolicis iuvenis luserat ante modis.
nos quoque iam pridem scripto peccavimus isto :
540 supplicium patitur non nova culpa novum ;
carminaque edideram, cum te delicta notantem
praeterii totiens inreprehensus 2 eques.
1 vestris corr. r 2 inrequietus
1 Ajax. 2 Medea.
a Apelles' famous picture of Venus rising from the sea.
94
TRISTIA, II. 513-542
and with thine eyes, by which the whole world
profits, thou hast gazed undisturbed at these adul-
teries of the stage. If 'tis right to compose mimes
that copy vice, to my themes a smaller penalty is
due.
517 Can it be that this type of writing is rendered
safe by the stage to which it belongs — that the licence
of the mimes has been granted by the theatre ?
My poems too have often been presented to the
people with dancing, often they have even beguiled
thine own eyes. Surely in our houses, even as figures
of old heroes shine, painted by an artist's hand, so
in some place a small tablet depicts the varying unions
and forms of love ; there sits not only the Tela-
monian l with features confessing wrath and the
barbarian mother 2 with crime in her eyes, but Venus
as well, wringing her damp hair with her hands and
seeming barely covered by her maternal waves.3
Some sing of the roar of war and its bloody weapons,
some of the deeds of thy race, and some of thine
own. As for me — grudging nature has confined me
within a narrow space, granting me but meagre
powers. And yet the blessed author of thy Aeneid
brought his " arms and the man " to a Tyrian couch,
and no part of the whole work is more read than that
union of illicit love. The same man had written as
a youth playful verse of the passion of Phyllis and
tender Amaryllis — all in pastoral strains.4 Long ago
I too sinned in that style of composition — thus a fault
not new is suffering a new penalty — and I had pub-
lished verse when thou wert censuring our sins and
I passed thee so many times, a knight uncriticized.6
4 The Eclogues. 6 Cf. v. 90.
95
OVID
ergo quae iuvenis mihi non nocitura putavi
scripta parum prudens, nunc nocuere seni.
545 sera redundavit veteris vindicta libelli,
distat et a merit! tempore poena sui.
ne tamen omne meum credas opus esse remissum,
saepe dedi nostrae grandia vela rati.
sex ego Fastorum scrips! totidemque libellos,
550 cumque stio finem mense volumen habet,
idque tuo nuper scriptum sub nomine, Caesar,
et tibi sacratum sors mea rupit opus ;
et dedimus tragicis scriptum regale cothurnis,
quaeque gravis debet verba cothurnus habet ;
555 dictaque sunt nobis, quamvis manus ultima coeptis
defuit, in facies corpora versa novas,
atque utinam revoces animum paulisper ab ira,
et vacuo iubeas hinc tibi pauca legi,
pauca, quibus prima surgens ab origine mundi
560 in tua deduxi tempora, Caesar, opus !
aspicies, quantum dederis mihi pectoris ipse,
quoque favore animi teque tuosque canam.
non ego mordaci destrinxi carmine quemquam.
nee meus ullius crimina versus habet.
565 candidus a salibus suffusis felle refugi :
ntilla venenato littera mixta ioco est.
inter tot populi, tot scriptis, milia nostri,
quern mea Calliope laeserit, unus ero.
non igitur nostris ullum gaudere Quiritem
570 auguror, at multos indoluisse malis ;
nee mihi credibile est, quemquam insultasse iacenti
gratia candor! si qua relata meo est.
1 The extant edition of the Fasti has only six books, dedi-
cated to German icus, and there is no good evidence that
Ovid wrote more. Those who translate sex . . . totidemque
" twelve " assume that Ovid wrote twelve books.
* The Medea, a tragedy, not extant.
Qfi
TRISTIA, II. 543-572
Thus the writings which in my youth all thought-
less I supposed would harm me not, have harmed
me now that I am old. Late and overfull is the
vengeance for that early book, distant is the penalty
from the time of the sin.
647 Yet think not all my work trivial ; oft have I
set grand sails upon my bark. Six of the Fasti I have
written in six books each ending with its own month.
This work did I recently compose, Caesar, under thy
name, dedicated to thee,1 but my fate has broken it
off. And I wrote a poem of kings for the tragic buskin,
having the style which the serious buskin demands.2
I sang also, though my attempt lacked the final
touch, of bodies changed into new forms.3 Would
that thou mightest recall thy temper awhile from
wrath and bid a few lines of this be read to thee
when thou art at leisure, the few lines 4 in which
after beginning with the earliest origin of the world
I have brought the work to thy times, Caesar ! Thou
wilt see how much heart thou hast thyself given
me, with what warmth I sing of thee and thine.
1 have never injured anybody with a mordant
poem, my verse contains charges against nobody.
Ingenuous I have shunned wit steeped in gall —
not a letter of mine is dipped in poisoned jest.
Amid all the myriads of our people, many as are
my writings, I shall be the only one whom my own
Calliope has injured. No citizen then, 1 feel sure,
rejoices in my woes, but many grieve. Nor can I
believe that anyone has mocked my fall, if any
indulgence has been granted to my open heart.
8 The Metamorphoses.
4 Cf. Mftam. xv. 745-870, where Julius Caesai arid
Augustus are praised.
H 97
OVID
his, precor, atque aliis possint tua numina flecti,
o pater, o patriae cura salusque tuae !
675 non ut in Ausoniam redeam, nisi forsitan olim,
cum longo poenae tempore victus eris ;
tutius exilium pauloque quietius oro,
ut par delicto sit mea poena suo.
98
TRISTIA, II. 573-578
May this, I pray, and other things have power to
bend thy will, O father, O protector and salvation
of thy native land : not that I may return to Ausonia,
unless perchance some day thou shalt be overborne
by the length of my punishment ; I only beg a safer,
a more peaceful place of exile, slight though the
change be, that the punishment may match my
wrongdoing.
99
LIBER TERTIUS
I.
" Missus in hanc venio timide liber exulis urbem :
da placidam fesso, lector amice, manum ;
neve reformida, ne sim tibi forte pudori :
nullus in hac charta versus amare docet.
5 haec domini fortuna mei est, ut debeat illam
infelix nullis dissimulare iocis.
id quoque, quod viridi quondam male lusit in aevo,
heu nimium sero damnat et odit opus !
inspice quid portem : nihil hie nisi triste videbis,
10 carmine temporibus conveniente suis.
clauda quod alter no subsidunt carmina versu,
vel pedis hoc ratio, vel via longa facit ;
quod neque sum cedro flavus l nee pumice levis,
erubui domino cultior esse meo ;
15 littera sufFusas quod habet maculosa lituras,
laesit opus lacrimis ipse poeta suum.
siqua videbuntur casu non dicta Latine,
in qua scribebat, barbara terra fuit.
dicite, lectores, si non grave, qua sit eundum,
20 quasque petam sedes hospes in urbe liber/'
1 fulvus
1 The Are amatoria.
8 The elegiac couplet is often spoken of as ** lame " because
of the unequal length of the verses.
100
BOOK III
I. PROEM
" Though sent to this city I come in fear, an
exile's book. Stretch forth a kindly hand to me
in my weariness, friendly reader, and fear not that
I may perchance bring shame upon you ; not a
line on this paper teaches love. Such is my master's
fate that the wretched man ought not to conceal it
with any jests. Even that work l which once was his
ill-starred amusement in the green of youth, too
late, alas ! he condemns and hates. Examine what
I bring : you will see nothing here except sadness,
and the verse befits its own state. If the lame
couplets halt in alternate verses, 'tis due to the
metre's nature 2 or to the length of the journey ;
if I am not golden with oil of cedar nor smoothed
with the pumice, 'tis because I blushed to be better
dressed than my master ; if the letters are spotted
and blurred with erasures, 'tis because the poet
with tears has injured his own work. If any ex-
pressions perchance shall seem not Latin, the land
wherein he wrote was a barbarian land. *Tell me,
readers, if it is not a trouble, whither I ought to
go, what abode I, a book from foreign lands, should
seek in the city."
101
OVID
haec ubi sum furtim lingua titubante locutus,
qui mihi monstraret, vix fuit unus, iter.
" di tibi dent, nostro quod non tribuere poetae,
molliter in patria vivere posse tua.
25 due age ! namque sequar, quamvis terraque marique
longinquo referam lassus ab orbe pedem."
paruit, et ducens " haec sunt fora Caesaris," inquit,
" haec est a sacris quae via nomen habet,
hie locus est Vestae, qui Pallada servat et ignem,
30 haec fuit antiqui regia parva Numae."
inde petens dextram " porta est " ait " ista Palati,
hie Stator, hoc primum condita Roma loco est."
singula dum miror, video fulgentibus armis
conspicuos postes tectaque digna deo.
35 " et lovis haec " dixi " domus est ? " quod ut esse
putarem,
augurium menti querna corona dabat.
cuius ut accepi dominum, " non fallimur," inquam,
" et magni verum est hanc lovis esse domum.
cur tamen opposita 1 velatur ianua lauro,
40 cingit et augustas arbor opaca comas ?
num quia perpetuos meruit domus ista triumphos,
an quia Leucadio semper amata deo est ?
ipsane quod festa est, an quod facit omnia festa ?
quam tribuit terris, pacis an ista nota est ?
1 apposita
1 The Sacred Way.
2 The temple of Vesta contained the Palladium (image
of Pallas) which fell from heaven at Troy.
8 Jupiter Stator.
4 The Mken wreath was given to Augustus as saviour of
the citizens, but the oak was also sacred to Jove.
6 i.e. of the oak. The laurels threw their foliage about
the oaken wreath.
6 Augustus' house was (by a decree of the senate) kept
102
TRISTIA, III. i. 21-44
21 When thus I had spoken timidly, with hesitant
tongue, I found with difficulty just one to show me
the way.
23 " May the gods grant you what they have not
vouchsafed our poet, the power to live at ease in
your native land — come, lead me ; I will follow,
though by land and sea I come in weariness from a
distant world.'*
27 He obeyed, and as he guided me, said, " This
is Caesar's forum ; this is the street named from
the sacred rites.1 This is the place of Vesta guard-
ing Pallas2 and the fire, here was once the tiny
palace of ancient Numa. Then turning to the
right, " That," he said, " is the gate of the Palatium.
Here is Stator 3 ; on this spot first was Rome
founded." While I was marvelling at one thing
after another, I beheld doorposts marked out from
others by gleaming arms and a dwelling worthy
of a god !
36 " Is this also Jove's abode," I said, and for
such thought an oaken wreath 4 gave to my mind
the augury. And when I learned its master, I
said, " No error is mine ; it is true that this is the
home of mighty Jove. But why is the door screened
by the laurels before it, their dark foliage surround-
ing the august tresses 5 ? Can it be because that
home has deserved unending triumph or because
it has always been loved by the Leucadian 6 god ?
Is it because the house itself is full of joy or because
it fills all things with joy ? Is it a mark of that
peace which it has given to the world ? And as
continually adorned with oak and laurel, triumphal insignia.
His victory at Actium occurred near the temple of Leucadian
Apollo and he honoured Apollo above all other gods.
103
OVID
45 utque viret semper laurus nee fronde caduca
carpitur, aeternum sic habet ilia decus ?
causa superpositae scripto est testata coronae :
servatos cives indicat huius ope.
adice servatis unum, pater optime, civem,
50 qui procul extreme pulsus in orbe latet,
in quo poenarum, quas se meruisse fatetur,
non facinus causam, sed suus error habet.
me miserum ! vereorque locum vereorque potentem,
et quatitur trepido littera nostra metu.
55 aspicis exsangui chartam pallere colore ?
aspicis alternos intremuisse pedes ?
quandocumque, precor, nostro placere parent!
isdem et l sub dominis aspiciare domus ! "
inde tenore pari gradibus sublimia celsis
60 ducor ad intonsi Candida templa dei,
signa peregrinis ubi sunt alterna columnis,
Belides et stricto barbarus ense pater,
quaeque viri docto veteres cepere novique
pectore, lecturis inspicienda patent.
65 quaerebam fratres, exceptis scilicet illis,
quos suus optaret non genuisse pater,
quaerentem frustra custos e sedibus illis
praepositus sancto iussit abire loco,
altera templa peto, vicino iuncta theatro :
70 haec quoque erant pedibus non adeunda meis.
1 et om. codd. add. Itali
1 i.e. Augustus and his family.
2 In the portico of the temple of Apollo on the Palatine
(built by Augustus) were the figures of Danaus and his
daughters.
3 Augustus had established a library in the temple of
Apollo.
4 The other works of Ovid.
104
TRISTIA, III. i. 45-70
the laurel is ever green with no withering leaves
to be plucked away, so does that house possess an
eternal glory ?
47 The reason for the crowning wreath is shown
by an inscription : it declares that by his aid citizens
have been saved. Add, O best of fathers, to those
whom thou hast saved one citizen who far on the
world's edge lies in forgotten exile, the cause of
whose punishment, which he admits that he has
deserved, is not a deed, but his own mistake.
Wretched me ! I fear the spot, I fear the man of
power, my script wavers with shuddering dread.
See you my paper pale with bloodless colour ? Sec
you each alternate foot tremble ? Sometime, I
pray, mayst thou, O palace, be reconciled with him
who fathered me, and may it be his lot to behold
thee under the same masters1 ! "
59 Then with even pace up the lofty steps I was
conducted to the shining temple of the unshorn
god, where alternating with the columns of foreign
marble stand the figures of the Belids,2 the barbarian
father with a drawn sword, and all those things
which the men of old or of modern times conceived
in their learned souls are free for the inspection
of those who would read.3 I was seeking my
brothers,4 save those indeed whom their father
would he had never begot, and as I sought to no
purpose, from that abode the guard who presides
over the holy place commanded me to depart.5
A second temple I approached, one close to a
theatre : 6 this too might not be visited by my feet.
6 Ovid's works had been placed under the ban, cf. v. 79.
6 Augustus had founded another library in the porticus
Octavia, near the theatre of Marcellus.
105
OVID
nee me, quae doctis patuerunt prima libellis,
atria Libertas tangere passa sua est.
in genus auctoris miseri fortuna redundat,
et patimur nati, quam tulit ipse, fugam.
75 forsitan et nobis olim minus asper et illi
evictus longo tempore Caesar erit.
di, precor, atque adeo — neque enim mihi turba
roganda est —
Caesar, ades voto, maxime dive, meo !
interea, quoniam static mihi publica clausa est,
80 private liceat delituisse loco.
vos quoque, si fas est, confusa pudore repulsae
sumite plebeiae carmina nostra manus.
ii.
Ergo erat in fatis Scythiam quoque visere nostris,
quaeque Lycaonio terra sub axe iacet ;
nee vos, Pierides, nee stirps Letoia, vestro
docta sacerdoti turba tulistis opem.
5 nee mihi, quod lusi vero1 sine crimine, prodest,
quodque magis vita Musa iocata2 mea est,
plurima sed pelago terraque pericula passum
ustus ab assiduo frigore Pontus habet.
quique fugax rerum securaque in otia natus,
10 mollis et inpatiens ante laboris eram,
ultima nunc patior, nee me mare portubus orbum
perdere, diversae nee potuere viae ;
suffecitque 3 malis animus ; nam corpus ab illo
accepit vires vixque ferenda tulit.
1 vestro a iocosa 8 sufficit atque
1 The library in the temple of Liberty was founded by
Asinius Pollio.
106
TRISTIA, III. i. Tl—ii. 14
Nor did Liberty allow me to touch her halls, the first
that were opened to learned books.1 The fate of
our unfortunate sire overflows upon his offspring, and
we suffer at our birth the exile which he has borne.
Perhaps sometime both to us and to him Caesar
conquered by long years will be less severe. O
gods, or rather (for it is not meet that I should pray
to a throng), Caesar, mightiest of gods, hearken to
my prayer ! In the meanwhile, since a public resting-
place is closed to me, may it be granted me to lie
hidden in some private spot. You too, hands of
the people, receive, if you may, our verses dismayed
by the shame of their rejection.
II. BETTER DEATH THAN EXILE
So then 'twas fated for me to visit even Scythia,
the land that lies beneath the Lycaonian pole ;
neither you, ye learned throng of Pierians, nor you,
() son of Leto, have aided your own priest. It
avails me not that without real guilt I wrote playful
verse, that my Muse was merrier than my life,
but many are the perils by land and sea that I
have undergone, and now the Pontus shrivelled with
constant frost possesses me. I, who once shunned
affairs, who was born for a care-free life of ease, who
was soft and incapable of toil, am now suffering
extremes ; no harbourless sea, no far journeys by
land have been able to destroy me. And my spirit
has proved equal to misfortune ; for my body,
borrowing strength from that spirit, has endured
things scarce endurable.
107
OVID
15 dum tamen et terris dubius iactabar et undis,
fallebat curas aegraque cord a labor :
ut via finita est et opus requievit eundi,
et poenae tellus est mihi tacta meae,
nil nisi flere libet, nee nostro parcior imber
20 lumine, de verna quam nive manat aqua.
Roma domusque subit desideriumque locorum,
quicquid et amissa restat in urbe mei.
ei milri, quod l totiens nostri pulsata sepulcri
ianua, sed nullo tempore aperta fuit !
25 cur ego tot gladios fugi totiensque minata
obruit infelix nulla procella caput ?
di, quos experior nimium constanter iniquos,
participes irae quos deus unus habet,
exstimulate, precor, cessantia fata meique
30 interitus clausas esse vetate fores !
III.
Haec mea si casu miraris epistula quare
alterius digitis scripta sit, aeger eram.
aeger in extremis ignoti partibus orbis,
incertusque meae paene salutis eram.
6 quern mihi nunc animum dira regione iacenti
inter Sauromatas esse Getasque putes ?
nee caelum patior, nee aquis adsuevimus istis,
terraque nescio quo non placet ipsa modo.
non domus apta satis, non hie cibus utilis aegro,
10 nullus, Apollinea qui levet arte malum,
non qui soletur, non qui labentia tarde
tempora narrando fallat, amicus adest.
1 quo
1 Augustus.
108
TRISTIA, III. n. 15— m. 12
16 Yet while I was being driven through the perils
of land and wave, there was beguilement for my
cares and my sick heart in the hardship ; now that
the way has ended, the toil of journeying is over,
and I have reached the land of my punishment, I
care for naught but weeping ; from my eyes comes
as generous a flood as that which pours from the
snow in springtime. Rome steals into my thought,
my home, and the places I long for, and all that
part of me that is left in the city I have lost. Ah
me ! that I have knocked so often upon the door
of my own tomb but it has never opened to me !
Why have I escaped so many swords ? Why has
not one of those gales that threatened so often
overwhelmed an ill-starred head ? Ye gods, whom
I have found too steadily cruel, sharers in a wrath
that one god1 feels, goad on my laggard fate, I
beseech ye ; forbid the door of my destruction to
be closed !
III. To HIS WIFE
If haply you wonder why this letter of mine is
written by another's fingers, I am ill — ill in the
utmost part of an unknown world, almost in doubt
of my recovery. What spirit can you think is now
mine, lying sick in a hideous land among Sauromatae
and Getae ? The climate I cannot endure, and I
have not become used to such water, and even the
land, I know not why, pleases me not. There is
no house here well suited to a sick man, no beneficial
food for him, none to relieve, with Apollo's art,
his pain, no friend to comfort, none to beguile with
talk the slow-moving hours. Aweary I lie among
109
OVID
lassus in extremis iaceo populisque locisque,
et subit adfecto nunc mihi, quicquid abest.
15 omnia cum subeant, vincis tamen omnia, coniunx,
et plus in nostro pectore parte tenes.
te loquor absentem, te vox mea nominat unam ;
nulla venit sine te nox mihi, nulla dies,
quin etiam sic me dicunt aliena locutum,
20 ut foret amenti nomen in ore tuum.
si iam deficiam, suppressaque lingua palato
vix instillato restituenda mero,
nuntiet hue aliquis dominam venisse, resurgam,
spesque tui nobis causa vigoris erit.
25 ergo ego sum dubius vitae, tu forsitan istic
iucundum nostri nescia tempus agis ?
non agis, adfirmo. liquet hoc, carissima, nobis,
tempus agi sine me non nisi triste tibi.
si tamen inplevit mea sors, quos debuit, annos,
30 et mihi vivendi tarn cito finis adest,
quantum erat, o magni, morituro parcere, divi,
ut saltern patria contumularer humo ?
vel poena in tempus mortis dilata fuisset,
vel praecepisset mors properata fugam.
35 integer hanc potui nuper bene reddere lucem ;
exul ut occiderem, nunc mihi vita data est.
tarn procul ignotis igitur moriemur in oris,
et fient ipso tristia fata loco ;
nee mea consueto languescent corpora lecto,
40 depositum nee me qui fleat, ullus erit ;
nee dominae lacrimis in nostra cadentibus ora
accedent animae tempora parva meae ;
110
TRISTIA, III. in. 13-42
these far-away peoples in this far-away place, and
thoughts come to me in my weakness of everything
that is not here. All things steal into my mind,
yet above all, you, my wife, and you hold more than
half my heart. You I address though you are
absent, you alone my voice names ; no night comes
to me without you, no day. Nay more, they say
that when I talked strange things, 'twas so that
your name was on my delirious lips. If I were to
fail now and my tongue cleaving to my palate were
scarcely to be revived by drops of wine,1 let someone
announce that my lady has come, I'll rise, and the
hope of you will be the cause of my strength. Am
I then uncertain of life, but are you perhaps passing
happy hours yonder forgetful of me ? You are not ;
I assert it. This is clear to me, dearest, that without
me you pass no hour that is not sad.
29 Still if my lot has filled out its destined years
and if the end of living is come so quickly upon me,
how small a thing, ye mighty gods, to show mercy
to one on the eve of death so that at least I might
have been covered with my native soil ! Would
that the penalty had been postponed to the hour
of my death or that quick death had anticipated
my exile ! In full possession of my rights, as I was
but recently, I could have been content to give up
this light of day ; to die an exile — for that has life
now been granted me. So far away, then, on a
strange shore I shall die, and the very place shall
render harsh my fate ; neither shall my body grow
weak upon the familiar couch, nor when I am at
the point of death shall there be any to weep, nor
shall my lady's tears fall upon my face adding brief
1 If the text is right, sit is to be supplied.
Ill
OVID
nee mandata dabo, nee cum clamore supremo
labentes oculos condet arnica manus ;
45 sed sine funeribus caput hoc, sine honore sepulcri
indeploratum barbara terra teget !
ecquid, ubi audieris, tota turbabere mente,
et feries pavida pectora fida manu ?
ecquid, in has frustra tendens tua brachia partes,
50 clamabis miseri nomen inane viri ?
parce tamen lacerare genas, nee scinde capillos :
non tibi nunc primum, lux mea, raptus ero.
cum patriam amisi, tune me periisse putato :
et prior et gravior mors fuit ilia mihi.
55 nunc, si forte potes — sed non potes, optima con-
iunx —
finitis gaude tot mihi morte malis.
quod potes, extenua forti mala corde ferendo,
ad quae iam pridem non rude pectus habes.
atque utinam pereant animae cum corpore nostrae,
60 effugiatque avidos pars mihi nulla rogos !
nam si morte carens vacua volat altus in aura
spiritus, et Samii sunt rata dicta senis,
inter Sarmaticas Romana vagabitur umbras,
perque feros manes hospita semper erit.
65 ossa tamen facito parva referantur in urna :
sic ego non etiam mortuus exul ero.
non vetat hoc quisquam : fratrem Thebana
peremptum
supposuit tumulo rege vetante soror.
atque ea cum foliis et amomi pulvere misce,
70 inque suburbano condita pone solo ;
quosque legat versus oculo properante viator,
grandibus in tituli marmore caede notis :
1 Pythagoras. 8 Antigone.
112
TRISTIA, III. in. 43-72
moments to my life ; nor shall I utter parting
words, nor with a last lament shall a loved hand
close my fluttering eyes, but without funeral rites,
without the honour of a tomb, this head shall lie
unmourned in a barbarian land !
47 Will not your whole heart be shaken, when you
hear this ? Will you not beat with trembling hand
your loyal breast ? Will you not stretch forth your
arms all in vain towards this region and call upon
the empty name of your wretched husband ? Yet
mar not your cheeks nor tear your hair : not now
for the first time, light of mine, shall I have been
torn from you. When I lost my native land, then
must you think that I perished ; that was my
earlier and harder death. Now, if perchance you
have the power (but you have it not, best of wives),
rejoice that so many misfortunes are ended for me
by death. For this you have power: lighten by
bearing them with a brave soul woes in which for a
long time now your heart is not untrained.
59 O that our souls might perish with the body
and that so no part of me might escape the greedy
pyre ! For if the spirit flits aloft deathless in the
empty air, and the words of the Samian sage x are
true, a Roman will wander among Sarmatian shades,
a stranger forever among barbarians. But my bones
— see that they are carried home in a little urn :
so shall I not be an exile even in death. This nobody
forbids : the Theban sister 2 laid her slain brother
beneath the tomb though the king forbade ; and
mingling with my bones the leaves and powder of
the nard lay them to rest in soil close to the city,
and on the marble carve lines for the wayfarer to
read with hasty eye, lines in large characters :
i 113
OVID
HIC ' EGO * QVI • IACEO • TENERORVM • LVSOR • AMORVM
INGENIO ' PERU • NASO • POETA • MEO
75 AT' TIBI • QVI • TRANSIS • NE • SIT • GRAVE • QVISQVIS* AMASTI
DICERE ' NASONIS • MOLLITER • OSSA • CVBENT
hoc satis in titulo est. etenim maiora libelli
et diuturna magis sunt monimenta mihi,
quos ego confido, quamvis nocuere, daturos
80 nomen et auctori tempora longa sao.
tu tamen extincto feralia munera semper
deque tuis lacrimis umida serta dato.
quamvis in cineres corpus mutaverit ignis,
sentiet officium maesta favilla pium.
85 scribere plura libet : sed vox mihi fessa loquendo
dictandi vires siccaque lingua negat.
accipe supremo dictum mihi forsitan ore,
quod, tibi qui mittit, non habct ipse, " vale."
IV.
O mihi care quidem semper, sed tempore duro
cognite, res postquam procubuere nieae,
usibus edocto si quicquam credis amico,
vive tibi et longe nomina magna fuge.
5 vive tibi, quantumque potes praelustria vita :
saevum praelustri fulmen ab arce venit.
nam quamquam soli possunt prodesse potcntes,
non prosint l potius, siquis 2 obesse potest.
effugit hibernas demissa antemna procellas,
10 lataque plus parvis vela timoris habent.
1 prosit vel prodest : prosint scripsi, cf. prosunt 5"
2 siquis] plurimum
1 Ovid often plays on the literal meaning of valere, *' to
be strong," " to be in health."
114
TRISTIA, III. m. 73— iv. 10
I, WHO LIE HERE, WITH TENDER LOVES ONCE PLAYED,
NASO, THE BARD, WHOSE LIFE HIS WIT BETRAYED.
GRUDGE NOT, O LOVER, AS THOU PASSEST BY,
A PRAYER I " SOFT MAY THE BONES OF NASO LIE ! "
This for the inscription ; my books are a greater
and more enduring memorial. These I have sure
trust, although they have injured him, will give a
name and a long enduring life to their author. Yet
do you ever give to the dead the funeral offerings
and garlands moist with your own tears. Although
the fire change my body to ashes, the sorrowing
dust shall feel the pious care.
85 More would I write, but my voice worn out with
speaking and my parched tongue deny the strength
for dictation. Receive the last word perhaps my
lips shall utter, a word which is not true 1 of the
sender : " Farewell ! "
IV. To A FRIEND — IN WARNING
O thou who wast ever dear to me, but whom I
really came to know in the cruel hour when my
fortunes fell in ruins, if thou dost in anything believe
a friend who has been taught by experience, live
for thyself, flee afar from great names ! Live
for thyself, and to thine utmost power shun glittering
renown ; cruel is the bolt that falls from the glitter-
ing citadel of renown. For though the powerful
alone can help, they would rather not help if they
can harm ! 2 The lowered yard-arm escapes the
blast of the storm, broad sails bring more fear than
2 The text of w. 7-8 is corrupt.
115
OVID
aspicis ut summa cortex levis innatet unda,
cum grave nexa simul retia mergat onus,
haec ego si monitor monitus prius ipse fuissem,
in qua debebam forsitari urbe forem.
15 dum tecum vixi, dum me levis aura ferebat,
haec mea per placidas cumba cucurrit aquas,
qui cadit in piano — vix hoc tamen evenit ipsum —
sic cadit, ut tacta surgere possit humo ;
at miser Elpenor tecto delapsus ab alto
20 occurrit regi debilis umbra suo.
quid fuit, ut tutas agitaret Daedalus alas,
Icarus inmensas nomine signet aquas ?
nempe quod hie alte, demissius ille volabat ;
nam pennas ambo non habuere suas.
25 crede mi hi, bene qui latuit bene vixit, et intra
fortunam debet quisque manere suam.
non foret Eumedes orbus, si filius eius
stultus Achilleos non adam asset equos ;
nee natum in flamma vidisset, in arbore natas,
30 cepisset genitor si Phaethonta M crops,
tu quoque formida nimium sublimia semper,
propositique, precor, contrahe vela tui.
nam pede inoffenso spatium decurrere vitae
dignus es et fato candidiore frui.
35 quae pro te ut voveam, miti pietate mereris
haesuraque fide tempus in omne mihi.
vidi ego te tali vultu mea fata gementem,
qualem credibile est ore fuisse meo.
nostra tuas vidi lacrimas super ora cadentes,
40 tempore quas uno fidaque verba bibi.
nunc quoque summotum studio defendis amicum,
et mala vix ulla parte levanda levas.
116
TRISTIA, III. iv. 11-42
small. Thou seest how the light cork floats atop
the wave when the heavy burden sinks with itself
the woven nets. If I who warn thee now had once
myself been warned of this, perchance I should now
be in that city in which I ought to be. Whilst I
lived with thee, whilst the light breeze wafted me
on, this bark of mine sped through calm waters.
Who falls on level ground — though this scarce
happens — so falls that he can rise from the ground
he has touched, but poor Elpenor who fell from the
high roof met his king a crippled shade. Why was it
that Daedalus in safety plied his wings while Icarus
marks with his name the limitless waves ? Doubt-
less because Icarus flew high, the other flew lower ;
for both had wings not their own. Let me tell thee,
he who hides well his life, lives well ; each man ought
to remain within his proper position. Eumedes would
not have been childless, if in folly his son l had not
had a fancy for the horses of Achilles. Merops would
not have seen his son in flames nor his daughters
in the form of trees if he had been a father great
enough for Phaethon. Do thou also dread constantly
that which is too lofty and furl the sails of thine
intent. For thou dost deserve to finish life's race
with unstumbling foot, enjoying a fairer lot than mine
35 These my prayers for thee are deserved by thy
gentle affection and by that loyalty which will
cling to me for all time. I saw thee lamenting my
fate with such a look as I think my own face must
have borne. I saw thy tears fall upon my face —
tears which I drank in with thy words of loyalty.
Even now thou dost defend with zeal thy banished
friend, lightening woes that are scarce in any part
1 Dolon.
117
OVID
vive sine invidia, mollesque inglorius annos
exige, amicitias et tibi iunge pares,
45 Nasonisque tui, quod adhuc non exulat unum,
nomen ama : Scythicus cetera Pontus habet.
IV*1
Proxima sideribus tellus Erymanthidos Ursae
me tenet, adstricto terra perusta gelu.
Bosphoros et Tanais superant Scythiaeque paludes
50 vix satis et noti nomina pauca loci,
ulterius nihil est nisi non habitabile frigus.
heu quam vicina est ultima terra mihi !
at longe patria est, longe carissima coniunx,
quicquid et haec nobis post duo dulce fuit.
65 sic tamen haec adsunt, ut quae contingere non est
corpore : sunt animo cuncta videnda meo.
ante oculos errant domus, urbsque et 2 forma locorum,
acceduntque suis singula facta locis.
coniugis ante oculos, sicut praesentis, imago est.3
60 ilia meos casus ingravat, ilia levat :
ingravat hoc, quod abest ; levat hoc, quod praestat
amorem
inpositumque sibi firma tuetur onus,
vos quoque pectoribus nostris haeretis, amici,
dicere quos cupio nomine quemque suo.
65 sed timor ofTicium cautus compescit, et ipsos
in nostro poni carmine nolle puto.
ante volebatis, gratique erat instar honoris,
versibus in nostris nomina vestra legi.
1 continuant cum prioribus codd.
8 urbs et corr. $r 8 est om*
1 The Don.
118
TRISTIA, III. iv. 43-68
to be lightened. Live unenvied, pass years of comfort
apart from fame, unite to thee friends like thyself,
and love thy Naso's name — the only part of him not
as yet in exile : all else the Scythian Pontus possesses.
IV *
To hearts that cannot vary
Absence is present.
47 A land next the stars of the Erymanthian bear
holds me, a region shrivelled with stiffening cold.
Beyond are the Bosporus and the Tanais l and the
Scythian marshes and the scattered names of a
region hardly known at all. Farther still is nothing
but a cold that forbids habitation. Alas ! how near
to me is the margin of the world ! But my father-
land is far away, far my dearest wife, and all that
after these two was once sweet to me. Yet even
so these things are present, though I cannot touch
them; to my mind all are visible. Before my eyes
flit my home, the city, the outline of places, the
events too that happened in each place. Before
my eyes is the image of my wife as though she were
present. She makes my woes heavier, she makes
them lighter — heavier by her absence, lighter by
her gift of love and her steadfast bearing of the
burden laid upon her.
63 You too are fast in my heart, my friends, whom
I am eager to mention each by his own name, but
cautious fear restrains the duty and you yourselves
do not wish a place in my poetry, I think. Of old
you wished it, for it was like a grateful honour to
have your names read in my verse. Since now 'tis
119
OVID
quod quoniam est anceps, intra mea pectora quemque
70 adloquar, et nulli causa timoris ero.
nee meus indicio latitantes versus amicos
protrahit.1 occulte siquis amabat, amet.
scite tamen, quamvis longe 2 regione remotus
absim, vos animo semper adesse meo ;
75 et qua quisque potest, aliqua mala nostra levate,
fidam proiecto neve negate manum.
prospera sic maneat vobis fortuna, nee umquam
contact! simili sorte rogetis idem.
Usus amicitiae tecum mihi parvus, ut illam
non aegre posses dissimulare, fuit,
nee 8 me complexus vinclis propioribus esses
nave mea vento, forsan, eunte suo.
5 ut cecidi cunctique metu fugere ruinam,
versaque amicitiae terga dedere meae,
ausus es igne lovis percussum tangere corpus
et deploratae limen adire domus :
idque recens praestas nee longo cognitus usu,
10 quod veterum misero vix duo tresve mihi.
vidi ego confusos vultus visosque notavi,
osque madens fletu pallidiusque meo,
et lacrimas cernens in singula verba cadentes
ore meo lacrimas, auribus ilia bibi ;
15 brachiaque accepi presso 4 pendentia collo,
et singultatis oscula mixta sonis.
sum quoque, care, tuis defensus viribus absens —
scis carum veri nominis esse loco —
1 protrahet * longa corr. Owen ex deflorat. 3 ni : nee r
* maesto
1 Perhaps Carus, i.e. carus, " dear.*' See Introd. p. xiv.
120
TRISTIA, III. iv. 69— v. 18
dangerous, within my heart will I address each one
and be cause of fear to none. My verse gives no
hint that forces my friends from their concealment.
In secret let whosoever loved me love me still. Yet
know that though I am absent and far removed in
space, you are ever present to my heart. Let each
of you in what way he can — in some way — lighten my
woes, nor refuse an outcast a trusty hand. So may
good fortune abide for you nor ever may you, visited
with a like fate, make the same request.
V. To ONE WHO HAS BEEN FAITHFUL
Slight was my friendly intercourse with you so
that you could without difficulty have denied it,
and you would not have embraced me more closely
perhaps, if my ship had been running before a
favouring wind. At my fall, when all in fear fled
my ruin, turning their backs upon friendship with
me, you dared to touch the corpse Jove's fire had
blasted and to approach the threshold of a house
bemoaned. You, a recent friend, not one known
through long intercourse, give me what scarcely two
or three of my old friends gave in my wretchedness.
I myself saw and marked your look of grief, your
face wet with tears and paler than my own. And
as I saw your tears falling with every word, drinking
in with my lips the tears and with my ears the words,
I felt the clasp of your encircling arms about my
neck and I was aware of your kisses mingled with
the sound of your sobbing. I have had your strong
defence also in my absence, dear one — you know
that " dear one " stands for your real name1 — and
121
OVID
multaque praeterea manifest! l signa favoris
20 pectoribus teneo non abitura meis.
di tibi posse tuos tribuant defendere semper,
quos in materia prosperiore iuves.
si tamen interea, quid in his ego perditus oris —
quod te credibile est quaerere — quaeris, agam,
25 spe trahor exigua, quam tu mihi demere noli,
tristia leniri numina posse dei.
seu temere expecto, sive id contingere fas est,
tu mihi, quod cupio, fas, precor, esse proba,
quaeque tibi linguae est facundia, confer in illud,
30 ut doceas votum posse valere meum.
quo quisque est maior, magis est placabilis irae,
et faciles motus mens generosa capit.
corpora magnanimo satis est prostrasse leoni,
pugna suum finem, cum iacet hostis, habet :
35 at lupus et turpes instant morientibus ursi
et quaecumque minor nobilitate fera.
maius apud Troiam forti quid habemus Achille ?
Dardanii lacrimas non tulit ille senis.
quae ducis Emathii fuerit dementia, Porus
40 Dareique docent funeris exequiae.
neve hominum referam flexas ad mitius iras,
lunonis gener est qui prius hostis erat.
denique non possum nullam sperare salutem,
cum poenae non sit causa cruenta meae.
45 non mini quaerenti pessumdare cuncta petitum
Caesareum caput est, quod caput orbis erat ;
non aliquid dixive, elatave2 lingua loquendo est,
lapsaque sunt nimio verba profana mero :
1 manifesto
2 dixi velataque (vel violataque vel violentaque) corr.
Ellis
1 Priam begging for Hector's body.
122
TRISTTA, III. v. 19-48
many other clear marks of your affection I still
retain that will not leave my heart. The gods grant
you always the power to defend your own ! May
you aid them in more fortunate circumstances
than mine !
23 Yet meanwhile, if you ask — and I believe that
you do ask — how in my ruin I fare upon this shore,
I am led on by the slender hope — take it not from
me — that the harsh will of the god can be softened.
Whether my hope is groundless or whether it is
vouchsafed me to attain it, do you prove to me, I
pray, that my great desire is vouchsafed ; whatever
eloquence you have devote to this — to showing that
my prayer can be accomplished. The greater a
man is, the more can his wrath be appeased ; a
noble spirit is capable of kindly impulses. For the
noble lion 'tis enough to have overthrown his enemy ;
the fight is at an end when his foe is fallen. But
the wolf, the ignoble bears harry the dying — and
so with every beast of less nobility. At Troy what
have we mightier than brave Achilles ? But the
tears of the aged Dardanian l he could not endure.
The quality of the Emathian leader's 2 mercy is
proved by Porus and the funeral ceremony of Darius.
And not to dwell upon instances of human wrath
turned to milder ends — he is now Juno's son-in-
law3 who was once her foe. In fine 'tis possible for
me to hope for some salvation since the cause of
my punishment involves no stain of blood ; I never
sought to wreck everything by assailing the life
of Caesar, which is the life of the world. I have said
nothing, divulged nothing in speech, let slip no
impious words by reason of too much wine : because
2 Alexander the Great. 8 Hercules, who married Hebe.
123
OVID
inscia quod crimen viderunt lumina, plector,
60 peccatumque oculos est habuisse meum.
non equidem totam possum defendere culpam,
sed partem nostri criminis error habet.
spes igitur superest facturum ut molliat ipse
mutati poenam condicione loci.
55 hos l utinam nitidi Soils praenuntius ortus
afferat admisso Lucifer albus equo !
VI
Foedus amicitiae nee vis, carissime, nostrae,
nee, si forte velis, dissimulare potes.
donee enim licuit, nee te mini carior alter,
nee tibi me tota iunctior urbe fuit,
6 isque erat usque adeo populo testatus, ut esset
paene magis quam tu quarnque ego notus, amor ;
quique est in caris animi tibi candor amicis —
cognita sunt ipsi, quern colis, ista2 viro.
nil ita celabas, ut non ego conscius essem,
10 pectoribusque dabas multa tegenda meis :
cuique ego narrabam secreti quicquid habebam,
excepto quod me perdidit, unus eras.
id quoque si scisses, salvo fruerere sodali,
consilioque forem sospes, amice, tuo.
15 sed mea me in poenam nimirum fata trahebant :
omne bonae claudunt 3 utilitatis iter.
sive malum potui tamen hoc vitare cavendo,
seu ratio fa turn vincere nulla valet,
tu tamen, o nobis usu iunctissime longo,
20 pars desiderii maxima paene mei,
1 hoc corr. Riese
8 cognitus est ipsi . . . iste * claudent r
1 Augustus.
124
TRISTIA, III. v. 49— vi. 20
my unwitting eyes beheld a crime, I am punished,
and 'tis my sin that I possessed eyes. I cannot
indeed exculpate my fault entirely, but part of it
consists in error. So have I still some hope that he
may bring himself to lighten my punishment by
changing its place. Would that such a dawn as
this may be brought me by the harbinger of the
gleaming sun, fair Lucifer, with his swift steed !
VI. To AN OLD FRIEND
The bond of our friendship, dear one, you
neither wish to hide nor, should you perchance so
wish, have you the power, for while it was possible
no other was dearer to me than you were, no one
in the whole city closer to you than I ; that love
was so thoroughly attested by everybody that it
was almost better known than you or I, and the
frankness of your heart towards your dear friends —
all this is known to that very man l whom you love.
You had no secret such that I was not aware
of it, and many things you used to entrust to
the guardianship of my heart. To you alone I
used to tell all my secrets except that one which
ruined me. If you had known that also, you
would now be enjoying the safety of your comrade :
through your advice I should be safe, my friend.
But doubtless my fate was dragging me to punish-
ment ; it closes every road of advantage. Yet
whether I could have avoided this evil by taking
care or whether no planning can defeat fate, do
you, close joined to me by long friendship, you
almost the largest part of my longing, remember
125
OVID
sis memor, et siquas fecit tibi gratia vires,
illas pro nobis experiare, rogo,
numinis ut laesi fiat mansuetior ira,
mutatoque minor sit mea poena loco,
25 idque ita, si nullum scelus est in pectore nostro,
principi unique mei criminis error habet.
nee breve nee tutum, quo sint mea, clicere, casu
lumina funesti conscia facta mali ;
mensque reformidat, veluti sua vulnera, tempus
30 illud, et admonitu fit novus ipse pudor,
et quaecumque adeo possunt afferre pudorem,
ilia tegi caeca condita nocte decet.
nil igitur referam nisi me peccasse, sed illo
praemia peccato nulla petita mihi,
35 stultitiamque meum crimen debere vocari,
nomina si facto reddere vera velis.
quae si non ita sunt, aliurn, quo longius absim,
quaere ; suburbana est hie mihi terra locus.
VII
VADE salutatum, subito perarata, Perillam,
littera, sermonis fida ministra mei.
aut illam invenies dulci cum matre sedentem,
aut inter libros Pieridasque suas.
5 quidquid aget, cum te scierit venisse, relinquct,
nee mora, quid venias quidve, requiret, agam.
vivere me dices, sed sic, ut vivere nolim,
nee mala tarn longa nostra levata mora ;
et tamen ad Musas, quamvis nocuere, reverti.
10 aptaque in alternos cogere verba pedes.
126
TR1STIA, III. vi. 21— vir 10
me ; and if favour has given you any powers, I
beg that you will test them in my behalf to soften
the wrath of the injured deity and that my punish-
ment may be lessened by changing its place — and
this only on condition that no crime is in my heart
but a mistake is responsible for the beginning of
my sin. Tis not a brief tale or safe to say what
chance made my eyes witness a baleful evil. My
mind shrinks in dread from that time, as 'twere
from its own wounds, and the very thought of it
renews my shame ; whatever can bring such sense
of shame should be covered and hidden in the
darkness of night. Nothing then will I say except
that I have sinned, but by that sin sought no reward ;
folly is the proper name for my crime, if you wish
to give the true title to the deed. If this is untrue,
then seek a still more distant place for my exile ;
this place is for me a land close to the city.1
VII. To PEIULLA
Go, greet Perilla, quickly written letter, and be
the trusty servant of my speech. You will find her
sitting in the company of her sweet mother or amid
books and the Pierian maidens she loves. Whatever
she be doing she will leave it when she knows of
your coming and ask at once why you come or
how I fare. Say that I live, but in such wise that I
would not live ; that my misfortunes have not been
lightened by the lapse of so long a time, that never-
theless I am returning to the Muses despite their
injury, forcing words to fit alternating measures.
1 i.e. my present place of exile is all too near Rome for
one who could be guilty of such untruth.
127
OVID
" tu quoque " die " studiis communibus ecquid
inhaeres,
doctaque non patrio carmina more canis ?
nam tibi cum fatis mores natura pudicos
et raras dotes ingeniumque dedit.
16 hoc ego Pegasidas deduxi primus ad undas,
ne male fecundae vena periret aquae ;
primus id aspexi teneris in virginis annis,
utque pater natae duxque comesque fui.
ergo si remanent ignes tibi pectoris idem,
20 sola tuum vates Lesbia vincet opus.
sed vereor, ne te mea nunc fortuna retardet,
postque meos casus sit tibi pectus iners.
dum licuit, tua saepe mihi, tibi nostra legebam ;
saepe tui iudex, saepe magister eram :
25 aut ego praebebam factis modo versibus aures,
aut, ubi cessares, causa ruboris eram.
forsitan exemplo, quia me laesere libelli,
tu quoque sis poenae fata l secuta meae.
pone, Perilla, metum ; tantummodo femina nulla
30 neve vir a scrip tis discat amare tuis.
ergo desidiae remove, doctissima, causas,
inque bonas artes et tua sacra redi.
ista decens facies longis vitiabitur annis,
rugaque in antiqua fronte senilis erit,
35 inicietque manum formae damnosa senectus,
quae strepitum 2 passu non faciente venit ;
cumque aliquis dicet ' fuit haec formosa ' dolebis,
et speculum mendax esse querere tuum.
sunt tibi opes modicae, cum sis dignissima magnis :
40 finge sed inmensis censibus esse pares,
1 facta : fata 5~ * strepitus : strepitum 5"
1 i.e. Ovid's, See Index s.v. Perilla.
128
TRISTIA, HI. vii. 11-40
Say to her, " Art thou too still devoted to our
common pursuit of singing learned verse, though not
in thy father's 1 fashion ? For with thy life nature
has bestowed upon thee modest ways and a rare
dower of native wit. This I was the first to guide
to the stream of Pegasus lest the rill of fertile water
unhappily be lost. I was the first to discern this in
the tender years of thy girlhood when, as a father to
his daughter, I was thy guide and comrade. So if
the same fire still abides in thy breast, only the
Lesbian bard 2 will surpass thy work. But I fear
that my fate may now be trammelling thee, that since
my disaster thy mind may have become inactive.
Whilst I could, I used often to read thy verse to
myself and mine to thee ; often was I thy critic,
often thy teacher, now lending my ear to the verses
thou hadst recently composed, now causing thee to
blush when thou wert idle. Perchance from the
example of the injury that verse has done me thou
too mayst have experienced in thought the fate of
my punishment. Lay aside thy fear, Perilla ; only
let no woman or any man learn from thy writings
how to love.
31 "So put aside the causes of sloth, accomplished
girl, return to a noble art and thy sacred offerings.
That fair face will be marred by the long years, the
wrinkles of age will come in time upon thy brow.
Ruinous age that comes with noiseless step will lay
her hand upon thy beauty, and when someone shall
say, * She once was fair/ thou wilt grieve and com-
plain that thy mirror lies. Thou hast a modest
fortune, though full worthy of a great one ; but
imagine it the equal of boundless riches, still assuredly
* Sappho.
K 129
OVID
nempe dat id 1 quodcumque libet fortuna rapitque,
Irus et est subito, qui modo Croesus erat.
singula ne referam, nil non mortale tenemus
pectoris exceptis ingeniique bonis.
45 en ego, cum caream patria vobisque domoque,
raptaque sint, adimi quae potuere mihi,
ingenio tamen ipse meo comitorque fruorque :
Caesar in hoc potuit iuris habere nihil.
quilibet hanc saevo vitam mihi finiat ense,
50 me tamen extincto fama superstes erit,
dumque suis victrix omnem de montibus orbem
prospiciet domitum Martia Roma, legar.
tu quoque, quam studii maneat felicior usus,
effuge ventures, qua potes, usque rogos ! "
VIII.
Nunc ego Triptolemi cuperem consistere curru,
misit in ignotam qui rude semen humum ;
nunc ego Medeae vellem frenare dracones,
quos habuit fugiens arce, Corinthe, tua ;
6 nunc ego iactandas optarem sumere pennas,
sive tuas, Perseu, Daedale, sive tuas :
ut tenera nostris cedente volatibus aura
aspicerem patriae dulce repente solum,
desertaeque domus vultus, memoresque sodales,
10 caraque praecipue coniugis ora meae.
stulte, quid haec frustra votis puerilibus optas,
quae non ulla tibi 2 fertque feretque dies ?
si semel optandum est, Augusti numen adora,
et, quern sensisti, rite precare deum.
15 ille tibi pennasque potest currusque volucres
tradere : det reditum, protinus ales eris.
1 et: idr * tulit
130
TRISTIA, III. vn. 41— vin. 16
fortune gives and takes away whatever she pleases,
and he becomes suddenly an Irus who was but now
a Croesus. In brief we possess nothing that is not
mortal except the blessings of heart and mind.
Behold me, deprived of native land, of you and my
home, reft of all that could be taken from me ; my
mind is nevertheless my comrade and my joy ; over
this Caesar could have no right. Let any you will
end this life with cruel sword, yet when I am dead
my fame shall survive. As long as Martian Rome
shall gaze forth victorious from her hills over the
conquered world, I shall be read. Do thou too —
and may a happier use of thine art await thee —
ever shun what way thou canst the coming pyre ! "
VIII. THE EXILE'S PRAYER
Now would I crave to stand in the car of Triptole-
mus, who flung the untried seed on ground that had
known it not ; now would I bridle the dragons that
Medea had when she fled thy citadel, O Corinth ;
now would I pray for wings to ply — thine, Perseus,
or thine, Daedalus — that the yielding air might give
way before my rapid flight and I might on a
sudden behold the sweet soil of my native land, the
faces in my lonely home, my loyal friends, and —
foremost of all — the dear features of my wife.
11 Fool ! why pray in vain like a child for such things
as these — things which no day brings you or will
bring ? If only you must pray, worship Augustus's
divinity ; petition in due form that god whose might
you have felt. He has power to grant you feathers
and winged cars : let him grant return and forthwith
131
OVID
si precer hoc — neque enim possum maiora rogare —
ne mea sint, timeo, vota modesta parum.
forsitan hoc olim, cum iam satiaverit iram,
20 turn quoque sollicita mente rogandus erit.
quod minus inter ea est, instar mini muneris ampli,
ex his me iubeat quolibet ire locis.
nee caelum nee aquae faciunt nee terra nee aurae ;
ei mihi, perpetuus corpora languor habet !
25 seu vitiant artus aegrae contagia mentis,
sive mei causa est in regione mali,
ut tetigi Pontum, vexant insomnia, vixque
ossa tegit macies nee iuvat ora cibus ;
quique per autumnum percussis frigore primo
30 est color in foliis, quae nova laesit hiems,
is mea membra tenet, nee viribus adlevor ullis,
et numquam queruli causa doloris abest.
nee melius valeo, quam corpore, mente, sed aegra est
utraque pars aeque binaque damna fero.
35 haeret et ante oculos veluti spectabile corpus
astat fortunae forma legenda meae :
cumque locum moresque hominum cultusque
sonumque
cernimus, et, qui sim qui fuerimque, subit,
tantus amor necis est, querar ut cum Caesaris ira,
40 quod non offensas vindicet ense suas.
at, quoniam semel est odio civiliter usus,
mutato levior sit fuga nostra loco.
IX.
Hie quoque sunt igitur Graiae — quis crederet ? —
urbes
inter inhumanae nomina barbariae ;
132
TRISTIA, III. vm. 17— ix. 2
you will have wings. Were I to pray for this (and I
can ask no greater things) I fear my prayer would
lack restraint. For this perchance sometime, when
his wrath is sated, I shall have to pray with a heart
troubled even then. Meanwhile a smaller thing, but
equal to a generous boon for me — let him bid me
go anywhere from this place. Neither climate nor
water suit me, nor land nor air — ah me ! a constant
weakness possesses my frame. Whether the con-
tagion of a sick mind affects my limbs or the cause
of my ills is this region, since I reached the Pontus,
I am harassed by sleeplessness, scarce does the lean
flesh cover my bones, food pleases not my lips ; and
such a hue as in autumn, when the first chill has
smitten them, shows on the leaves that young winter
has marred, overspreads my body ; no strength
brings relief, and I never lack cause for plaintive
pain. I am no better in mind than in body ; both
alike are sick and I suffer double hurt. Clinging and
standing like a visible body before my eyes is the
figure of my fate that I must scan ; and when I
behold the country, the ways, the dress, the language
of the people, when I remember what I am and what
I was, I have so great a love of death that I complain
of Caesar's wrath, because he avenges not his wrongs
with the sword. But since he has once exercised
his hatred mildly, let him lighten my exile still
further by changing its place.
IX. THE ORIGIN OF TOMIS
Here too then there are Grecian cities (who would
believe it ?) among the names of the wild barbarian
133
OVID
hue quoque Mileto missi venere coloni,
inque Getis Graias constituere domos.
5 sed vetus huic nomen, positaque antiquius urbe,
constat ab Absyrti caede fuisse loco,
nam rate, quae cura pugnacis facta Minervae
per non temptatas prima cucurrit aquas,
impia desertum fugiens Medea parentern
10 dicitur his remos applicuisse vadis.
quern procul ut vidit tumulo speculator ab alto,
" hospes," ait, " nosco, Colchide, vela, venit."
dum trepidant Minyae, dum solvitur aggere funis,
dum sequitur celeres ancora tracta manus,
15 conscia percussit meritorum pectora Colchis
ausa atque ausura multa nefanda manu ;
et, quamquam superest ingens audacia menti,
pallor in attonitae virginis ore fuit.
ergo ubi prospexit venientia vela " tenemur,
20 et pater est aliqua fraude morandus " ait.
dum quid agat quaerit, dum versat in omnia
vultus,
ad fratrem casu lumina flexa tulit.
cuius ut oblata est praesentia, " vicimus " inquit :
" hie mihi morte sua causa salutis erit."
25 protinus ignari nee quicquam tale timentis
innocuum rigido perforat ense latus,
atque ita divellit divulsaque membra per agros
dissipat in multis invenienda locis.
neu pater ignoret, scopulo proponit in alto
30 pallentesque manus sanguineumque caput,
1 The Argo.
134
TRISTIA, III. ix. 3-30
world ; hither also came from Miletus colonists to
found among the Getae Grecian homes. But the
ancient name, more ancient than the founding of the
city, was given to this place, 'tis certain, from the
murder of Absyrtus. For in the ship l which was
built under the care of warlike Minerva — the first
to speed through the untried seas — wicked Medea
fleeing her forsaken sire brought to a haven her
oars, they say, in these waters. Him in the distance
the lookout on the lofty hill espied and said, " A
stranger approaches from Colchis ; I recognize the
sails !
13 While the Minyae 2 are all excitement, while the
cable is loosed from the shore, while the anchor
is being raised following their nimble hands, the
Colchian maid conscious of her guilt smote her
breast with a hand that had dared and was to dare
many things unspeakable, and though her heart
still retained its great boldness, there was a pallor of
dismay upon the girl's face.
19 And so at the sight of the approaching sails, she
said, " We are caught ! I must delay my father
by some trick ! " As she was seeking what to do,
turning her countenance on all things, she chanced
to bend her gaze upon her brother. When aware of
his presence she exclaimed, " The victory is mine !
His death shall save me ! " Forthwith while he in
his ignorance feared no such attack she pierced his
innocent side with the hard sword. Then she tore him
limb from limb, scattering the fragments of his body
throughout the fields so that they must be sought in
many places. And to apprise her father she placed
upon a lofty rock the pale hands and gory head.
* The Argonauts.
185
OVID
ut genitor luctuque novo tardetur et, artus
dum legit extinctos, triste moretur ' iter.
inde Tomis 2 dictus locus hie, quia fertur in illo
membra soror fratris consecuisse sui.
X.
Siquis adhuc istic meminit Nasonis adempti,
et superest sine me nomen in urbe meum,
suppositum stellis numquam tangentibus aequor
me sciat in media vivere barbaria.
5 Sauromatae cingunt, fera gens, Bessique Getaeque.
quam non ingenio nomina digna meo !
dum tamen aura tepet, medio defendimur Histro :
ille suis liquidus 3 bella repellit aquis.
at cum tristis hiems squalentia protulit ora,
10 terraque marmoreo est Candida facta gelu,
dum prohibet 4 Boreas et nix habitare sub Arcto,
turn patet has gentes axe tremente premi.
nix iacet, et iactam ne 5 sol pluviaeque resolvant,6
indurat Boreas perpetuamque facit.
15 ergo ubi delicuit nondum prior, altera venit,
et solet in multis bima manere locis ;
tantaque commoti vis est Aquilonis, ut altas
aequet humo turres tectaque rapta ferat.
pellibus et sutis arcent mala frigora bracis,
20 oraque de toto corpore sola patent,
saepe sonant moti glacie pendente capilli,
et nitet inducto Candida barba gelu ;
1 retardet 2 tomus (thomus) rel tomos
8 liquidis * patet et : prohibet Owen
6 ne] nee 6 resolvunt corr. Ehwald
136
TRISTIA, III. ix. 31— x. 22
Thus was the sire delayed by his fresh grief, lingering,
while he gathered those lifeless limbs, on a journey
of sorrow.
33 So was this place called Tomis because here, they
say, the sister cut to pieces her brother's body.1
X. THE RIGOURS OF TOMIS
If there be still any there who remembers banished
Naso, if my name without me still survives in the
city, let him know that beneath the stars which
never touch the sea I am living in the midst of the
barbarian world. About me are the Sauromatae, a
cruel race, the Bessi, and the Getae, names how un-
worthy of my talent ! Yet while the warm breezes
blow we are defended by the interposing Hister ;
with the flood of his waters he repels wars. But
when grim winter has thrust forth his squalid face,
and the earth is marble-white with frost, while Boreas
and the snow prevent life under the Great Bear, then
'tis clear that these tribes are hard pressed by the
shivering pole. The snow lies continuously, and once
fallen, neither sun nor rains may melt it, for Boreas
hardens and renders it eternal. So when an earlier
fall is not yet melted another has come, and in many
places 'tis wont to remain for two years. So mighty
is the power of Aquilo, when once he is aroused, that
he levels high towers to the ground and sweeps away
buildings. With skins and stitched breeches they
keep out the evils of the cold ; of the whole body
only the face is exposed. Often their hair tinkles
with hanging ice and their beards glisten white with
1 Ovid derives Tom is (Tomi) from r^w, " to cut."
137
OVID
nudaque consistunt, forniam servantia testae,
vina, nee hausta meri, sed data frusta bibunt.
25 quid loquar, ut vincti concrescant frigore rivi,
deque lacu fragiles effodiantur aquae ?
ipse, papyrifero qui non angustior amne
miscetur vasto multa per ora freto,
caeruleos ventis latices durantibus, Hister
30 congelat et tectis in mare serpit aquis ;
quaque rates ierant, pedibus nuiic itur, et undas
frigore concretas ungula pulsat equi ;
perque novos pontes, subter labentibus undis,
ducunt Sarmatici barbara plaustra boves.
35 vix equidem credar, sed, cum sint praemia falsi
nulla, ratam debet testis habere fidem :
vidimus ingentem glacie consistere pontum,
lubricaque inmotas testa premebat aquas,
nee vidisse sat est ; durum calcavimus aequor,
40 undaque non udo sub pede summa fuit.
si tibi tale fretum quondam, Leandre, fuisset,
non foret angustae mors tua crimen aquae,
turn neque se pandi possunt delphines in auras
tollere ; conantes dura coercet hierns ;
45 et quamvis Boreas iactatis insonet alis,
fluctus in obsesso gurgite nullus erit ;
inclusaeque gelu stabunt in marmore puppes,
nee potent rigidas findere remus aquas,
vidimus in glacie pisces haerere ligatos,
50 sed pars ex illis turn quoque viva fuit.
sive igitur nimii Boreae vis saeva marinas,
sive redundatas flumine cogit aquas,
protinus aequato siccis Aquilonibus Histro
invehitur celeri barbarus liostis equo ;
1 Cf. the tales of serving whisky in the Klondike
chunks " ! 8 The Nile.
138
TRISTIA, III. x. 23-54
the mantle of frost. Exposed wine stands upright,
retaining the shape of the jar, and they drink, not
draughts of wine, but fragments served them ! l
25 Why tell of brooks frozen fast with the cold and
how brittle water is dug out of the pool ? The very
Hister, not narrower than the papyrus-bearing river,2
mingling with the vast deep through many mouths,
freezes as the winds stiffen his dark flood, and winds
its way into the sea with covered waters. Where ships
had gone before now men go on foot and the waters
congealed • with cold feel the hoof-beat of the horse.
Across the new bridge, above the gliding current, are
drawn by Sarmatian oxen the carts of the barbarians.
I may scarce hope for credence, but since there is no
reward for a falsehood, the witness ought to be believed
— I have seen the vast sea stiff with ice, a slippery
shell holding the water motionless. And seeing is not
enough; I have trodden the frozen sea, and the surface
lay beneath an unwetted foot. If thou, Leander,
hadst once had such a sea, thy death would not have
been a charge against the narrow waters. At such
times the curving dolphins cannot launch themselves
into the air ; if they try, stern winter checks them ;
and though Boreas may roar and toss his wings, there
will be no wave on the beleaguered flood. Shut in
by the cold the ships will stand fast in the marble
surface nor will any oar be able to cleave the stiffened
waters. I have seen fish clinging fast bound in the
ice, yet some even then still lived.
61 So whether the cruel violence of o'ermighty
Boreas congeals the waters of the sea or the full waters
of the river, forthwith when the Hister has been
levelled by the freezing Aquilo the barbarian enemy
with his swift horses rides to the attack — an enemy
139
OVID
65 hostis equo pollens longeque volante sagitta
vicinam late depopulatur humum.
diffugiunt alii, nullisque tuentibus agros
incustoditae diripiuntur opes,
ruris opes parvae, pecus et stridentia plaustra,
60 et quas divitias incola pauper habet.
pars agitur vinctis post tergum capta lacertis,
respiciens frustra rura Laremque suum :
pars cadit hamatis misere confixa sagittis :
nam volucri ferro tinctile virus inest.
65 quae nequeunt secum ferre aut abducere, perdunt,
et cremat insontes hostica flamma casas.
tune quoque, cum pax est, trepidant formidine belli,
nee quisquam presso vomere sulcat humum.
aut videt aut metuit locus hie, quern non videt,
hostem ;
70 cessat iners rigido terra relicta situ.
non hie pampinea dulcis latet uva sub umbra,
nee cumulant altos fervida musta lacus.
poma negat regio, nee haberet Acontius in quo
scriberet hie dominae verba legenda suae.
76 aspiceres 1 nudos sine fronde, sine arbore, campos :
heu loca feliei non adeunda viro !
ergo tarn late pateat cum maximus orbis,
haec est in poenam terra reperta meam !
XL
Si quis es, insultes qui casibus, improbe, nostris,
meque reum dempto fine cruentus agas,
natus es e scopulis et pastus lacte ferino,
et dicam silices pectus habere tuum.
1 aspiceret
HO
TRISTIA, III. x. 55— xi. 4
strong in steeds and in far flying arrows — and lays
waste far and wide the neighbouring soil. Some flee,
and with none to protect their lands their unguarded
resources are plundered, the small resources of the
country, flocks and creaking carts — all the wealth
the poor peasant has. Some are driven, with arms
bound behind them, into captivity, gazing back in
vain upon their farms and their homes ; some fall
in agony pierced with barbed shafts, for there is a
stain of poison upon the winged steel. What they
cannot carry or lead away they destroy, and the
hostile flame burns the innocent hovels. Even when
peace prevails, there is timorous dread of war, nor
does any man furrow the soil with down-pressed
share. A foe this region either sees or fears when
it does not see ; idle lies the soil abandoned in stark
neglect. Not here, the sweet grape lying hidden in
the leafy shade nor the frothing must brimming the
deep vats ! Fruits are denied in this region nor here
would Acontius have anything on which to write
the words for his sweetheart l to read. One may
see naked fields, leafless, treeless — a place, alas 1 no
fortunate man should visit. This then, though the
great world is so broad, is the land discovered for
my punishment !
XI. To AN ENEMY
Whoever thou art that dost mock, wicked man,
at my misfortunes, endlessly bringing an indictment
against me, thirsting for my blood, born art thou of
crags and fed on the milk of wild beasts, and I will
assert that thy breast is made of flint. What farther
1 Cydippe.
141
OVID
5 quis gradus ulterior, quo se tua porrigat ira,
restat ? quidve meis cernis abesse mails ?
barbara me tellus et inhospita h'tora Ponti
cumque suo Borea Maenalis Ursa videt.
nulla mihi cum gente fera commercia linguae :
10 omnia solliciti sunt loca plena metus.
utque fugax avidis cervus deprensus ab ursis,
cinctave montanis ut pavet agna lupis,
sic ego belligeris a gentibus undique saeptus
terreor, hoste meum paene premente latus.
15 utque sit exiguum poenae, quod coniuge cara,
quod patria careo pignoribusque meis :
ut mala nulla feram nisi nudam Caesaris iram,
nuda parum nobis Caesaris ira mali est ?
et tamen est aliquis, qui vulnera cruda retractet,
20 solvat et in mores ora diserta meos.
in causa facili cuivis licet esse diserto,
et minimae vires frangere quassa valent.
subruere est arces et stantia moenia virtus :
quamlibet ignavi praecipitata premunt.
25 non sum ego quod1 fueram. quid inanem proteris
umbram ?
quid cinerem saxis bustaque nostra petis ?
Hector erat tune cum bello certabat ; at idem
vinctus ad Haemonios non erat Hector equos.
me quoque, quern noras olim, non esse memento :
30 ex illo superant haec simulacra viro.
quid simulacra, ferox, dictis incessis amaris ?
parce, precor, Manes sollicitare meos !
omnia vera puta mea crimina, nil sit in illis,
quod magis errorem quam scelus esse putes,
35 pendimus en profugi — satia tua pectora — poenas
exilioque graves exiliique loco.
1 sum ego qui
142
TRISTIA, III. xi. 5-36
point remains to which thy anger may extend ?
What dost thou see lacking to my woes ? A bar-
barous land, the unfriendly shores of Pontus, and the
Maenalian bear with her companion Boreas behold
me. No interchange of speech have I with the wild
people ; all places are charged with anxiety and fear.
As a timid stag caught by ravenous bears or a lamb
surrounded by the mountain wolves is stricken with
terror, so am I in dread, hedged about on all sides by
warlike tribes, the enemy almost pressing against
my side. Were it a slight punishment that I am
deprived of my dear wife, my native land, and my
loved ones ; were I supporting no ills but the naked
wrath of Caesar, is the naked wrath of Caesar too
small an ill ? Yet, despite this, someone there is to
handle anew my raw wounds, to move eloquent lips
against my character ! In an easy cause anybody
may be eloquent ; the slightest strength is enough
to break what is already shattered. To overthrow
citadels and upstanding walls is valour ; the worst
of cowards press hard upon what is already fallen. I
am not what I was. Why dost thou trample on an
empty shadow ? Why attack with stones my ashes
and my tomb ? Hector was alive whilst he fought
in war, but once bound to the Haemonian steeds
he was not Hector. I too, whom thou knewest in
former times, no longer exist, remember ; of that
man there remains but this wraith. WThy, cruel man,
dost thou assail a wraith with bitter words ? Cease,
I beg, to harass my shade. Consider all my crimes
real, let there be nothing in them that thou couldst
think rather a mistake than a crime — lo ! a fugitive
I am paying (let this sate thy heart) a penalty heavy
through exile and the place of that exile. To a
14-3
OVID
carnifici fortuna potest mea flenda videri :
et tamen est uno iudice mersa parum.
saevior es tristi Busiride, saevior illo,
40 qui falsum lento torruit igne bovem,
quique bovem Sieulo fertur donasse tyranno,
et dictis artes conciliasse suas :
44 munere in hoc, rex, est usus, sed imagine maior,
nee sola est operis forma probanda mei.
45 aspicis a dextra latus hoc adapertile tauri ?
hac1 tibi, quern perdes, coniciendus erit.
protinus inclusum lentis carbonibus ure :
mugiet, et veri vox erit ilia bovis.
pro quibus inventis, ut munus nmnere penses,
50 da, precor, ingenio praemia digna meo."
dixerat. at Phalaris " poenae mirande repertor,
ipse tuum praesens imbue " dixit " opus."
nee mora, monstratis crudeliter ignibus ustus
exhibuit geminos ore gemente sonos.
65 quid mihi cum Siculis inter Scythiamque Getasque ?
ad te, quisquis is es, nostra querella redit.
utque sitim nostro possis explere cruore,
quantaque vis, avido gaudia corde feras,
tot mala sum fugiens tellure, tot aequore passus.
60 te quoque ut auditis posse dolere putem.
crede mihi, si sit nobis collatus Ulixes,
Neptuni 2 minor est quam lovis ira fuit.
ergo quicumque es, rescindere crimina noli,
deque gravi duras vulnere tolle manus ;
65 utque meae famam tenuent oblivia culpae,
facta cicatricem ducere nostra sine ;
1 hie * neptunique corr. r
1 Perillus. 2 PhalarT^
3 i.e. at once the screams of a man and the bellowing of
a bull.
TRISTIA, III. xi. 37-66
hangman my fate might seem pitiful, yet there is
one judge who thinks it sunk not deep enough !
39 Thou art more cruel than harsh Busiris, more
cruel than he l who heated the artificial bull over a
slow fire and gave the bull, they say, to the Sicilian
lord 2 commending his work of art with the words :
" In this gift, O King, there is profit, greater than
appears, for not the appearance alone of my work is
worthy of praise. Seest thou on the right that the
bull's flank may be opened ? Through this thou must
thrust whomsoever thou wouldst destroy. Forth-
with shut him in and roast him over slow-burning
coals : he will bellow, and that will be the voice of a
true bull. For this invention pay gift with gift,
and give me, I pray thee, a reward worthy of my
genius." Thus he spake. But Phalaris said, " Mar-
vellous inventor of punishment, dedicate in person
thine own work ! " At once roasted by the fires to
which he had himself cruelly pointed the way he
uttered with groaning lips sounds twofold.3
55 What have I, in Scythia among the Getae, to do
with Sicilians ? To thee, whoever thou art, my
complaint returns. That thou mayst sate thy thirst
in my blood and carry as much joy as thou wilt in
thy greedy heart, I have endured so many woes by
land in my flight, so many by sea, that I think even
thou canst feel pain at the hearing of them. I
assure thee, if Ulysses should be compared with me,
Neptune's wrath is less than Jove's has been. So
then, whoever thou art, do not open again the charges
against me, remove thy hard hands from my danger-
ous wound, and that forgetfulness may lessen the ill
repute of my fault, permit a scar to cover my deed ;
L 145
OVID
humanaeque memor sortis, quae tollit eosdem
et premit, incertas ipse verere vices.
et quoniam, fieri quod numquam posse putavi,
70 est tibi de rebus maxima cura meis,
non est quod timeas : fortuna miserrima nostra est,
omne trahit secum Caesaris ira malum.
quod magis ut liqueat, neve hoc ego fingere credar,
ipse velim poenas experiare meas.
XII.
Frigora iam Zephyri minuunt, annoque peracto
longior antiquis visa Maeotis bienis,
inpositamque sibi qui non bene pertulit Hellen,
tempora nocturnis aequa diurna facit.
5 iam violam puerique legunt hilarcsque pucllae,
rustica quae nullo nata serente venit ;
prataque pubescunt variorum More colorum,
indocilique loquax gutture vernat avis ;
utque malae matris crimen deponat hirundo
10 sub trabibus cunas tectaque parva facit :
herbaque, quae latuit Cerealibus obruta sulcis,
exit et expandit molle cacumen humo ;
quoque loco est vitis, de palmite gemma movetur :
nam procul a Getico litore vitis abest ;
15 quoque loco est arbor, turgescit in arbore ramus :
nam procul a Geticis finibus arbor abest.
otia nunc istic, iunctisque ex ordine ludis
cedunt verbosi garrula bella fori.
lusus l equi nunc est, levibus nunc luditur armis,
20 nunc pila, nunc celeri volvitur orbe trochus ;
1 usus
1 The constellation of the Ham— the month of March.
2 Procne.
146
TRISTIA, III. xi. 67— xn. 20
remember human fate, which lifts or lowers the same
men, and fear for thyself uncertain change. And
since — as I never thought possible — thou dost take
the greatest interest in my affairs, there is naught
for thee to fear : my fate is most wretched, Caesar's
wrath draws with it every ill. That this may be
clearer and I be not thought to feign it, I pray that
in thine own person thou mayst try my punishment.
XII. SPRINGTIME IN TOMIS
The cold is now weakening beneath the zephyr's
breath and at the year's close the Maeotic winter has
seemed more endless than those of old, and he l who
bore Helle but ill upon his back now makes equal
the time of night and day. Now merry boys and
girls are plucking the violets that spring up unsown
in the fields, the meadows are abloom with many-
coloured flowers, the chatty birds from unschooled
throats utter a song of spring, and the swallow, to
put off the name of evil mother,-' builds beneath the
rafters the tiny house that cradles her young. The
grain that lay in hiding beneath the furrows comes
forth, unfolding from the soil its tender tips. Wher-
ever grows the vine, the bud is just pushing from the
shoot (but the vine grows far from the Getic shore !),
and wherever grows the tree, the branches are just
budding (but the tree grows far from the Getic shore !).
In yonder land there is now rest, and the noisy wars
of the wordy forum are giving place to festivals one
after another ; now there is sport with horses, now
there is play with light arms, with the ball or the
147
OVID
nunc ubi perfusa est oleo labente iuvsntus,
defessos artus Virgine tinguit aqua,
scaena viget studiisque favor distantibus ardet,
proque tribus resonant terna theatra foris.
25 o quater, o quotiens1 non est numerare, beatum,
non interdicta cui licet urbe frui !
at mihi sentitur nix verno sole soluta,
quaeque lacu durae non fodiantur aquae :
nee mare concrescit glacie, nee, ut ante, per Histrum
30 stridula Sauromates plaustra bubulcus agit.
incipient 2 aliquae tamen hue adnare carinae,
hospitaque in Ponti litore puppis erit.
sedulus occurram nautae, dictaque salute,
quid veniat, quaeram, quisve quibusve locis.
35 ille quidem mi rum ni de regione propinqua
non nisi vicinas tutus ararit 3 aquas,
rarus ab Italia tantum mare navita transit,
litora rarus in haec portubus orba venit.
sive tamen Graeca scierit, sive ille Latina
40 voce loqui — certe gratior huius erit ;
fas quoque ab ore freti longaeque Propontidos
undis
hue aliquem certo vela dedisse Noto —
quisquis is est, memori rumorem voce referre
et fieri famae parsque gradusque potest.
45 is, precor, auditos possit narrare triumphos
Caesaris et Latio reddita vota lovi,
teque, rebellatrix, tandem, Germania, magni
triste caput pedibus supposuisse ducis.
1 quantum et vel quantum o vel quater et
2 incipiunt 3 arabit vel araret corr. Heinsius
1 From the aqueduct called Virgo.
14*8
TRISTIA, III. xii. 21-48
swift circling hoop ; now the young men, reeking of
slippery oil, are bathing wearied limbs in Virgin
water.1 The stage is full of life, and partizanship
ablaze with warring passions, and three theatres
roar in the place of three forums.2 Ah ! four times
happy — yes, countless times happy — is he who may
enjoy the unforbidden city I
27 But mine it is to feel the snow melted by the
spring sun and water which is not dug all hard from
the pool. The sea, too, is no longer solid with ice,
nor as before does the Sauromatian herdsman drive
his creaking wagon across the Ister. Yet spite of
all some ships will begin to voyage hither, and soon
there will be a friendly bark on Poiitus' shore.
Eagerly I shall run to meet the mariner and when
I've greeted him, shall ask why he comes, who and
from what place he is. It will be strange, indeed,
if he is not from a neighbouring land — one who has
ploughed no seas but those near by. For rarely does
a sailor cross the wide seas from Italy, rarely visit
this harbourless shore. Yet if he knows how to
speak with the voice of Greek or Roman (this last
will surely be the sweeter, for 'tis possible, too, that
from the mouth of the strait and the waiters of far
Propontis someone has set sail hither with a steady
south wind), whoever he is, he may be one to tell
faithfully some rumour, one to share and pass on
some report. May he, I pray, have power to tell
of Caesar 's triumphs and vows paid to Jupiter of the
Latins ; that thou, rebellious Germany, at length
hast lowered thy sorrowing head beneath the foot
* The three theatres were those of Pompey, Marcellus,
and Balbus ; the three forums were the forum Romanum,
lulium, and Augusti.
14-9
OVID
haec mihi qui referet, quae non vidisse dolebo,
50 ille meae domui protinus hospes erit.
ei mihi, iamne domus Scythico Nasonis in orbe est ?
iamque suum mihi dat pro Lare poena locum ?
di facile ut Caesar non hie penetrale domumque,
hospitium poenae sed velit esse meae.
XIII.
Ecce supervacuus — quid enim fuit utile gigni ? —
ad sua Natalis tempora noster adest.
dure, quid ad miseros veniebas exulis annos ?
debueras illis inposuisse modum.
5 si tibi cura mei, vel si pudor ullus inesset,
non ultra patriam me sequerere meam,
quoque loco primum tibi sum male cognitus infans,
illo temptasses ultimus esse mihi,
inque relinquendo, quod idem fecere sodales,
10 tu quoque dixisses tristis in urbe " vale."
quid tibi cum Ponto ? num te quoque Caesaris ira
extremam gelidi misit in orbis humum ?
scilicet expectas soliti tibi moris honorem,
pendcat ex umeris vestis ut alba meis,
15 fumida cingatur florentibus ara coronis,
micaque sollemni turis in igne sonet,
libaque dem proprie genitale notantia tempus,
concipiamque bonas ore favente preces.
1 Tiberius, who took the field against the Germans after
the defeat of Yarns, A.n. 9.
2 The word domua (cf. Lare, penetrale) implies a per-
manent abode. The poet prays that Scythia may be merely
a temporary residence (hospitivm).
150
TRIST1A, III. xn. 49— xni. 18
of our leader.1 He who tells me such things as these
— things it will grieve me that I have not seen — shall
be forthwith a guest within my home. Ah me ! is
Naso's home 2 now in the Scythian world, and does my
punishment assign me its own land as an abode ?
Ye gods, give Caesar the will that not here may be
my hearth and home but only the hostelry of my
punishment !
XIII. A BIRTHDAY AT TOMIS
Lo ! to no purpose — for what profit was there in
my birth ? — my birthday god 3 attends his anniver-
sary. Cruel one, why hast thou come to increase the
wretched years of an exile ? To them thou shouldst
have put an end. Haclst thou any love for me or
any sense of shame, thou wouldst not be following me
beyond my native land, and where first I was known
by thee as an ill-starred child, there shouldst thou
have tried to be my last, and at the parting, like my
friends, thou too in the city shouldst have said in
sorrow " Farewell."
11 What hast thou to do with Pontus ? Is it that
Caesar's wrath sent thee too to the remotest land of
the world of cold ? Thou awaitest, I suppose, thine
honour in its wonted guise : a white robe hanging
from my shoulders, a smoking altar garlanded with
chaplets, the grains of incense snapping in the holy
fire, and myself offering the cakes that mark my
birthday and framing kindly petitions with pious
3 The genius natal is to whom the Roman offered .sacrifice
on his birthday. The genius was believed to be a spiritual
counterpart of the individual.
151
OVID
non ita sum positus, nee sunt ea tempora nobis,
20 adventu possim laetus ut esse tuo.
funeris ara mihi, ferali cincta eupressu,1
convenit et structis flamma parata rogis.
nee dare tura libet nil exorantia divos,
in tantis subeunt nee bona verba malis.
25 si tamen est aliquid nobis hac luce petendum,
in loca ne redeas amplius ista, precor,
dum me terrarum pars paene novissima, Pontus,
Euxinus falso nomine dictus, habet.
XIV.
Cultor et antistes doetorum sancte virorum,
quid facis, ingenio semper amice meo ?
ecquid, ut incolumem quondam celebrare solebas,
nunc quoque, ne videar totus abesse, caves ?
6 suscipis 2 exceptis ecquid mea carmina solis
Artibus, artifici quae nocuere suo ?
immo ita fac, quaeso, vatum studiose novorum,
quaque potes, retine corpus in urbe meum.
est fuga dicta mihi, non est fuga dicta libellis,
10 qui domini poenam non meruere sui.
saepe per externas 3 profugus pater exulat oras,
urbe tamen natis exulis esse licet.
Palladis exemplo de me sine matre creata
carmina sunt ; stirps haec progeniesque mea est.
16 hanc tibi commendo, quae quo magis orba parente
est,
hoc tibi tutori sarcina maior erit.
1 cupresso 2 conficis : suscipis 5" 8 extremas
152
TRISTIA, III. xiii. 19— xiv. 16
lips. Not such is my condition, nor such my hours,
that I can rejoice at thy coming. An altar of death
girdled with funereal cypress is suited to me and a
flame made ready for the up-reared pyre. Nor is it
a pleasure to offer incense that wins nothing from
gods, nor in such misfortunes do words of good omen
come to my lips. Yet if I must ask thee something
on this day, return thou no more to such a land, I
pray, so long as all but the remotest part of the world,
the Pontus, falsely called Euxine,1 possesses me.
XIV. EPILOGUE — TO AN UNNAMED FRIEND
Cherisher and revered protector of learned men,
what doest thou — thou that hast ever befriended my
genius ? As thou once wert wont to extol me when
I was in safety, now too dost thou take heed that I
seern not wholly absent ? Dost thou harbour my
verse except only that " Art " which ruined its
artificer ? Do so, I pray, thou patron of new bards ;
so far as may be, keep my body 2 in the city. Exile
was decreed to me, exile was not decreed to my
books ; they did not deserve their master 's punish-
ment. Oft is a father exiled on a foreign shore, yet
may the exile's children live in the city. Pallas-
fashion 3 were my verses born from me without a
mother ; these are my offspring, my family. These
I commend to thee ; the more bereft they are, the
greater burden will they be to thee their guardian.
1 Euxine means k' hospitable," cf. Tr. iv. 4. 55 f, ; v. 10. 13 f.
8 i.e. my poems.
8 Pallas was born from the head of Zeus.
153
OVID
tres mihi sunt nati contagia nostra secuti :
cetera fac curae sit tibi turba palam.
sunt quoque mutatae, ter quinque volumina, formae,
20 carmina de domini funere rapta sui.
illud opus potuit, si non prius ipse perissem,
certius a summa nomen habere manu :
nunc incorrectum populi pervenit in ora,
in populi quicquam si tamen ore mei est.
25 hoc quoque nescio quid nostris appone libellis,
diverso missum quod tibi ab orbe venit.
quod quicumque leget, — si quis leget — aestimet ante,
compositum quo sit tempore quoque loco,
aequus erit scriptis, quorum cognoverit esse
30 exilium tempus barbariamque locum :
inque tot adversis carmen mirabitur ullum
ducere me tristi sustinuisse manu.
ingenium fregere meum mala, cuius et ante
fons infecundus parvaque vena fuit.
35 sed quaecumque fuit, nullo exercente refugit,
et longo periit arida facta situ,
non hie librorum, per quos inviter alarque,
copia : pro libris arcus et arma sonant,
nullus in hac terra, recitem si carmina, cuius
40 intellecturis auribus utar, adest ;
non quo secedam locus est. custodia muri
summovet infestos clausaque porta Getas.
saepe aliquod quaere verbum nomenque looumque,
nee quisquam est a quo certior esse queam.
45 dicere saepe aliquid conanti — turpe fateri ! —
verba mihi desunt dedidicique loqui.
154
TRISTIA, III. xiv. 17-46
Three of my children x have caught pollution from
me : make the rest of the flock openly thy care.
There are also thrice five books on changing forms,2
verses snatched from the funeral of then* master.
That work, had I not perished beforehand, might
have gained a more secure name from my finishing
hand : but now unrevised it has come upon men's lips
• — if anything of mine is on their lips. Add to my
books this humble bit also, which comes to you
dispatched from a far-distant world. Whoever reads
this (if anyone does) let him take account beforehand
at what time, in what place it was composed. He
will be fair-minded to writings which he knows were
composed in time of exile, in the barbarian world ;
and amid so many adverse circumstances he will
wonder that I had the heart to write with sorrow-
ing hand any poem. Misfortunes have broken
my talent whose source was even aforetime unpro-
ductive and whose stream was meagre. But such
as it was, with none to exercise it, it has shrunken
and is lost, dried up by long neglect. Not here
have I an abundance of books to stimulate and
nourish me : in their stead is the rattle of bows
and arms. There is nobody in this land, should
I read my verse, of whose intelligent ear I might
avail myself, there is no place to which I may
withdraw. The guard on the wall and a closed
gate keep back the hostile Getae. Often I am
at a loss for a word, a name, a place, and there is
none who can inform me. Oft when I attempt some
utterance — shameful confession ! — words fail me :
I have unlearned my power of speech. Thracian and
1 The three books of the Ars amatoria.
* The Metamorphoses.
155
OVID
Threicio Scythicoque fere * circumsonor ore,
et videor Geticis scribere posse modis.
crede mihi, timeo ne sint inmixta Latinis
50 inque meis scrip tis Pontica verba legas.
qualemcumque igitur venia dignare libellum.
sortis et excusa condicione meae.
1 fero
156
TR1STIA, III. xiv. 47-52
Scythian tongues chatter on almost every side, and
I think I could write in Getic measure.1 O believe
me, I fear that there may be mingled with the Latin
in my writings the language of the Pontus. Such
as my book is, then, deem it worthy of indulgence
and pardon it because of the circumstances of my
fate.
i See Ex P. iv. 13. 19 ff.
157
LIBER QUARTUS
I.
Siqua meis fuerint, ut erunt, vitiosa libellis,
excusata suo tempore, lector, habe.
exul eram, requiesque mihi, non fama petita est,
mens intenta suis ne foret usque malis.
5 hoc est cur cantet vinctus quoque compede fossor,
indocili numero cum grave mollit opus,
cantat et innitens limosae pronus harenae,
adverse tardam qui trahit amne ratem ;
quique refert pariter lentos ad pectora remos,
10 in numerum pulsa brachia pulsat l aqua,
fessus ubi incubuit baculo saxove resedit
pastor, harundineo carmine mulcet oves.
cantantis pariter, pariter data pensa trahentis,
fallitur ancillae decipiturque labor.
15 fertur et abducta Lyrneside tristis Achilles
Haemonia curas attenuasse lyra.
curn traheret silvas Orpheus et dura canendo
saxa, bis amissa coniuge maestus erat.
me quoque Musa levat Ponti loca iussa petentem :
20 sola comes nostrae perstitit ilia fugae ;
1 iactat r
1 A flute was often used to mark the time for the rowers.
2 Briseis. 3 Eurydice.
158
BOOK IV
I. A PLEA FOR INDULGENCE
Whatever faults you may find — and you will find
them — in my books, hold them absolved, reader,
because of the time of their writing. I am an exile ;
solace, not fame, has been my object — that my mind
dwell not constantly on its own woes. This is why
even the ditcher, shackled though he be, resorts to
song, lightening with untutored rhythm his heavy
work. He also sings who bends forward over the
slimy sand, towing against the stream the slow-
moving barge, or he who pulls to his breast in unison
the pliant oars, timing l his arms with measured
strokes upon the water. The weary shepherd
leaning upon his staff or seated upon a rock soothes
his sheep with the drone of his reeds. At once
singing, at once spinning her allotted task, the slave
girl beguiles and whiles away her toil. They say
too that when the maid 2 of Lyrnesus was taken
from him, sad Achilles relieved his sorrow with the
Haemonian lyre. While Orpheus was drawing to
him the forests and the hard rocks by his singing, he
was sorrowing for the wife 3 twice lost to him.
iy Me also the Muse comforted while on my way
to the appointed lands of Pontus ; she only was the
steadfast companion of my flight — the only one who
159
OVID
sola nee insidias, Sinti nee1 militis ensem,
nee mare nee ventos barbariamque timet.
scit quoque, cum peril, quis me deceperit error,
et culpam in faeto, non scelus, esse meo,
25 scilicet hoc ipso nunc aequa, quod obfuit ante,
cum mecurn iuncti criminis acta rea est.
non equidem vellem, quoniam nocitura fuerunt,
Pieridum sacris inposuisse manum.
sed nunc quid faciam ? vis me tenet ipsa sacrorum,
30 et carmen demens carmine laesus amo.
sic nova Dulichio lotos gustata palato
illo, quo nocuit, grata sapore fuit.
sentit amans sua damna fere, tamen haeret in illis,
materiam culpae persequiturque suae.
35 nos quoque delectant, quamvis nocuere, libelli,
quodque mihi telum vulnera fecit, amo.
forsitan hoc studium possit furor esse videri,
sed quiddam furor hie utilitatis habet.
semper in obtutu mentem vetat esse malorum,
40 praesentis casus inmemoremque facit.
utque suum Bacche non sentit saucia vulnus,
dum stupet Idaeis exululata modis,
sic ubi mota calent viridi mea pectora thyrso,
altior humano spiritus ille malo est.
45 ille nee exilium, Scythici nee litora ponti,
ille nee iratos sentit habere deos.
utque soporiferae biberem si pocula Lethes,
temporis adversi sic mihi sensus abest.
1 inter nee : Sinti nee Ehwald
1 A tribe mentioned only here by Ovid, but the text is
not certain.
160
TRISTIA, IV. i. 21-48
fears neither treachery, nor the brand of the Sintian 1
soldier, nor sea nor winds nor the world of the bar-
barians. She knows also what mistake led me astray
at the time of my ruin, — that there is fault in my
deed, but no crime. Doubtless for this very reason
is she fair to me now because she injured me before,
when she was indicted with me for a joint crime.
Well could I wish, since they were destined to work
me harm, that I had ne'er set hand to the holy service
of the Pierian ones. But now, what am I to do ?
The very power of that holy service grips me ; mad-
man that I am, though song has injured me, 'tis still
song that I love. So the strange lotos tasted by
Dulichian palates 2 gave pleasure through the very
savour which wrought harm. The lover is oft aware
of his own ruin yet clings to it, pursuing that which
sustains his own fault. I also find pleasure in my
books though they have injured me, and I love the
very weapon that made my wounds.
37 Perchance this passion may seem madness, but
this madness has a certain profit : it forbids the mind
to be ever gazing at its woes, rendering it forgetful
of present mischance. As the stricken Bacchante
feels not her wound while in ecstasy she shrieks to
the accompaniment of Idaean measures, so when
my heart feels the inspiring glow of the green
thyrsus,3 that mood is too exalted for human woe ; it
realizes neither exile nor the shores of the Scythian
sea nor the anger of the gods, and just as if I were
drinking slumber-bringing Lethe's draughts, I lose
the sense of evil days.
2 The comrades of Ulysses are meant.
8 The ivy-crowned staff of the devotees of Bacchus —
often used as a symbol for poetic inspiration.
M 161
OVID
iure deas igitur veneror mala nostra levantes,
50 sollicitae * comites ex Helicone fugae,
et partim pelago partim vestigia terra
vel rate dignatas vel pede nostra sequi.
sint, precor, haec saltern faciles mihi ! namque
deorum
cetera cum magno Caesare turba facit,
65 meque tot adversis cumulant,2 quot litus harenas,
quotque fretum pisces, ovaque piscis habet.
vere prius flores, aestu mimerabis aristas,
poma per autumnum frigoribusque nives,
quam mala, quae toto patior iactatus in orbe,
60 dum miser Euxini litora laeva 3 peto.
nee tamen, lit veni, levior fortuna malorum est :
hue quoque sunt nostras fata secuta vias.
hie quoque cognosco natalis stamina nostri,
stamina de nigro vellere facta mihi.
65 utque neque insidias capitisque pericula narrem,
vera quidem, veri 4 sed graviora fide,
vivere quam miserum est inter Bessosque Getasque
ilium, qui populi semper in ore fuit !
quam miserum est, porta vitam muroque tueri,
70 vixque sui tutum viribus esse loci !
aspera militiae iuvenis certamina fugi,
nee nisi lusura movimus arma manu ;
nunc senior gladioque latus scutoque sinistram,
canitiem galeae subicioque meam.
75 nam dedit e specula custos ubi signa tumultus,
induimus trepida protinus arma manu.
1 sollicitas corr. Scaliger
* cumulat 8 saeva : laeva r
* veri] vera vel vidi corr. Francius
1 i.e. as one enters the Pontus. But Ovid may be playing
162
TRISTIA, IV. i. 49-76
49 Tis right then for me to revere the goddesses
who lighten my misfortunes, who came from Helicon
to share my anxious flight, who now by sea, now by
land, deigned to follow my route on ship or afoot.
May they at least, I pray, be propitious to me !
For the rest of the gods take sides with mighty
Caesar, heaping upon me as many ills as the sands
of the shore, the fishes of the sea, or the eggs of the
fish. Sooner will you count the flowers of spring,
the grain-ears of summer, the fruits of autumn, or the
snowflakes in time of cold than the ills which I suffered
driven all over the world seeking in wretchedness the
shores to the left l of the Euxine. Yet no lighter
since my coming is the lot of my misfortunes ; to
this place also fate has followed my path. Here also
I recognize the threads of my nativity, threads
twisted for me from a black fleece. To say naught
of ambushes or of dangers to my life — true they are,
yet too heavy for belief in truth — how pitiable
a thing is living among Bessi and Getae for him who
was ever on the people's lips ! How pitiable to
guard life by gate and wall, and scarce to be safe-
guarded by the strength of one's own position ! The
rough contests of military service I shunned even as
a youth and touched arms only with a hand intending
to play ; but now that I am growing old I fit a sword
to my side, a shield to my left arm, and I place a
helmet upon my gray head. For when the guard
from the lookout has given the signal of a raid,
forthwith I don my armour with shaking hands.
on the meaning of Euxine, " hospitable," " propitious," i.e.
the " hospitable sea, so inhospitable," ef. TV. iii. 13. 28 ;
v. 10. 14 ; iv. 8. 42. But Tr. iv. 10. 97 supports the transla-
tion given in the text.
163
OVID
hostis, habens arcus imbutaque tela venenis,1
saevus anhelanti moenia lustrat equo ;
utque rapax pecudem, quae senon texit ovili,
80 per sata, per silvas fertque trahitque lupus,
sic, siquem nondum portarum saepe 2 receptum
barbarus in campis repperit hostis, habet :
aut sequitur captus coniectaque vincula collo
accipit, aut telo virus habente perit.
85 hie ego sollicitae lateo novus incola sedis :
heu nimium fati tempora longa 3 mei !
et tamen ad numeros antiquaque sacra revert!
sustinet in tantis hospita Musa malis.
sed neque cui recitem quisquam est mea carmina,
nee qui
90 auribus aecipiat verba Latina suis.
ipse mihi — quid enim faciam ? — scriboque legoque,
tutaque iudicio littera nostra suo est.
saepe tamen dixi " cui nunc haec cura laborat ?
an mea Sauromatae scripta Getaeque legent ? "
95 saepe etiam lacrimae me sunt scribente profusae,
umidaque est fletu littera facta meo,
corque vetusta meum, tamquam nova, vulnera novit,
inque sinum maestae labitur imber aquae,
cum vice mutata, qui sim fuerimque, recorder,
100 et, tulerit quo me casus et unde, subit,
saepe manus demens, studiis irata sibique,
misit in arsuros carmina nostra focos.
atque ita 4 de multis quoniam non multa supersunt,
cum venia facito, quisquis es, ista legas.
105 tu quoque non melius, quam sunt mea tempora,
carmen,
interdicta mihi, consule, Roma, boni.
1 veneno * sede : saepe r
* lenta * ea : ita r
164
TRISTIA, IV. i. 77-106
The foe with his bows and with arrows dipped in
poison fiercely circles the walls upon his panting
steed, and as the sheep which has not found shelter
in the fold is carried and dragged through field,
through forest by the ravening wolf, so 'tis with
him whom the barbarian finds not yet sheltered
within the hedge of the gates, but in the fields :
that man either follows into captivity and submits
to the bonds cast about his throat or he dies by an
envenomed missile. This is the place in which, a new
colonist in an abode of anxiety, I lie secluded — alas !
too long is the period of my fate !
87 Nevertheless my Muse has the heart to return
to rhythm, to her old-time rites, a friendly guest amid
these great misfortunes. But there is none to whom
I may read my verses, none whose ears can com-
prehend Latin words. I write for myself — what else
can I do ? — and I read to myself, and my writing is
secure in its own criticism. Yet have I often said,
" For whom this careful toil ? Will the Sauromatae
and the Getae read my writings ? " Often too my
tears have flowed as I wrote, my writing has been
moistened by my weeping, my heart feels the old
wounds as if they were fresh, and sorrow's rain glides
down upon my breast.
99 Again when I bethink me what, through change
of fortune, I am and what I was, when it comes over
me whither fate has borne me and whence, often my
mad hand, in anger with my efforts and with itself,
has hurled my verses to blaze upon the hearth. And
since of the many not many survive, see thou readest
them with indulgence, whoever thou mayst be !
Thou too take in good part verse that is not better
than my lot, O Rome forbidden to me !
165
OVID
II.
lam fera Caesaribus Germania, totus ut orbis,
victa potest flexo succubuisse genu,
altaque velentur fortasse Palatia sertis,
turaque in igne sonent inficiantque diem,
6 candidaque adducta collum percussa securi
victima purpureo sanguine pulset humum,
donaque amicorum templis promissa deorum
reddere victores Caesar uterque parent,
et qui Caesar eo iuvenes sub nomine crescunt,
10 perpetuo terras ut domus ilia regat,
cumque bonis nuribus pro sospite Li via nato
munera det meritis, saepe datura, deis,
et pariter matres et quae sine crimine castos
perpetua servant virginitate focos ;
16 plebs pia cumque pia laetetur plebe senatus,
parvaque cuius eram pars ego nuper eques :
nos procul expulsos communia gaudia fallunt,
famaque tarn longe non nisi parva venit.
ergo omnis populus poterit spectare triumphos,
20 cumque ducum titulis oppida capta leget,
vinclaque captiva reges cervice gerentes
ante coronatos ire videbit equos,
et cernet vultus aliis pro tempore versos,
terribiles aliis inmemoresque sui.
25 quorum pars causas et res et nomina quaeret,
pars referet, quamvis noverit ilia parum.
1 Tiberius was in the field against the Germans, cf,
iii. 12. 45. Ovid is anticipating the triumph.
8 Augustus and Tiberius.
* Germanicus and the younger Drusus.
166
TRISTIA, IV. n. 1-26
II. A TRIUMPH OVER GERMANY
Already wild Germany, like the whole world, may
have yielded on bended knee to the Caesars ; l may-
hap the lofty Palatium is decked with garlands and
incense is crackling in the fire, colouring the light
of day, while from the white victim's throat smitten
by the axe's stroke the red blood is pattering upon
the ground, the gifts promised to the temples of the
friendly gods are being made ready for offering by
both Caesars 2 and by the youths 3 who are growing
up under Caesar's name to give that house eternal
sway over the world ; with her good daughters 4
Livia for the safety of her sou is perchance offering
gifts, as she will often do, to the deserving gods, and
in her company the matrons also and those who
without stain in eternal virginity keep watch over
the hearth of purity ; the loyal plebs is rejoicing,
and with the loyal plebs the senate and the knights
among whom but recently I had a humble part : but
I driven so far away miss the common rejoicing
and nothing but a slight rumour penetrates so far.
19 So then all the people will be able to view the
triumph, reading the names of captured towns and
the titles of leaders, beholding the kings with
chains upon their captive throats marching before
the garlanded horses, seeing some countenances
turned to earth as becomes captives, others grim and
forgetful of their lot. Some of the people will
inquire the causes, the objects, the names, and others
will answer though they know all too little.
* Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, and Li villa, wife of
Drusus.
167
OVID
haec ego summotus qua possum mente videbo :
erepti nobis ius habet ilia loci :
ilia per inmensas spatiatur libera terras,
60 in caelum celeri pervenit ilia via l ;
ilia meos oculos mcdiam deducit in urbem,
immunes tanti nee sinit esse boni ;
invenietque animus, qua currus spectet eburnos ;
sic certe in patria per breve tempus ero.
65 vera tamen capiet populus spectacula felix,
laetaque erit praesens cum duce turba suo.
at mihi fingendo tantum longeque remotis
auribus hie fructus percipiendus erit,
atque procul Latio diversum missus in orbem
70 qui narret cupido, vix erit, ista mihi.
is quoque iam serum referet veteremque triumphum :
quo tamen audiero tempore, laetus ero.
ilia dies veniet, mea qua lugubria ponam,
causaque privata publica maior erit.
III.
Magna minorque ferae, quarum regis altera Graias,
altera Sidonias, utraque sicca, rates,
omnia cum summo positae videatis in axe,
et maris occiduas non subeatis aquas,
5 aetheriamque suis cingens amplexibus arcem
vester ab intacta circulus extet humo,
aspicite ilia, precor, quae non bene moenia quondam
dicitur Iliades transiluisse Remus,
inque mearn nitidos dominam convertite vultus,
10 sitque memor nostri necne, referte mihi.
1 The constellations of the Greater arid Lesser Bear.
170
TR1STIA, IV. n. 57—ni. 10
67 All this I, an exile, shall see in my mind's eye —
my only way ; for my mind at least has a right to that
place which has been torn from me. It travels free
through measureless lands, it reaches the heaven in
its swift course, it leads my eyes to the city's midst,
not allowing them to be deprived of so great a bless-
ing ; and my mind will find a place to view the ivory
car, — thus at least for a brief space I shall be in my
native land. Yet the real sight will belong to the
happy people, the throng will rejoice in the presence
of their own leader.
67 But as for me — in imagination only and with ears
far away I shall have perforce to realize the joy, and
there will scarce be one sent far from Latium to the
opposite side of the world to tell it all to eager me.
Even he will tell the tale of that triumph late, when
it is already of long standing ; yet whenever I hear
of it, I shall be glad. Then will come a day on which
I may lay aside my gloom ; greater than a private
cause will be that of the state.
III. To HIS WIFE
Ye two beasts,1 great and small, one the guide of
Grecian, the other of Sidonian ships, each unwetted
by the waves, since from your places at the summit
of the pole ye behold all things, never dipping
beneath the westering waters, and since your orbit
girdling heaven's heights in its embrace stands out
above the earth it never touches, regard, I pray,
those walls which once, they say, Remus, Ilia's son,
leaped across to his undoing ; turn your bright faces
upon my lady and tell me whether she thinks of me
171
OVID
ei mihi, cur timeam ? quae sunt manifesta, re-
quiro.
cur iacet l ambiguo spes mea mixta metu ?
crede, quod est et vis, ac desine tuta vereri,
deque fide certa sit tibi certa fides,
15 quodque polo fixae nequeunt tibi dicere flammae,
non mentitura tu tibi voce refer,
esse tui memorem, de qua tibi maxima cura est,
quodque potest, secum nomen habere tuum.
vultibus ilia tuis tamquam praesentis inhaeret,2
20 teque remota procul, si modo vivit, amat.
ecquid, ubi incubuit iusto mens aegra dolori,
lenis ab admonito pectore somnus abit ?
tune subeunt curae, dum te lectusque locusque
tangit et oblitam non sinit esse mei,
25 et veniunt aestus, et nox inmensa videtur,
fessaque iactati corporis ossa dolent ?
non equidem dubito, quin haec et cetera fiant,
detque tuus maesti signa doloris amor,
nee cruciere minus, quam cum Thebana cruentum
30 Hectora Thessalico vidit ab axe rapi.
quid tamen ipse precer dubito, nee dicere possum,
affectum quern te mentis habere velim.
tristis es ? indignor quod sim tibi causa doloris :
non es ? at 3 amisso coniuge digna fores.
35 tu vero tua damna dole, mitissima coniunx,
tempus et a nostris exige triste malis,
fleque meos casus : est quaedam flere voluptas ;
expletur lacrimis egeriturque dolor,
atque utinam lugenda tibi non vita, sed esset
40 mors mea, morte fores sola relicta mea !
1 latet vel labat : iacet Ehwald
2'praesentibus haeret 8 ut : at "Rentley
172
TRISTIA, IV. in. 11-40
or not. Ah me ! Why should I fear ? I am seeking
that which is already clear. Why does my hope He
prostrate mingled with hesitating fear ? Believe
that which is even as you wish, and cease to fear for
what is secure. When faith wavers not, have in it
unwavering faith, and what the pole-flames cannot
tell you, that tell yourself in a voice that will not lie :
of you in very truth she thinks — she who is the object
of your own great love ; she keeps with her the only
thing she can, your name. She bends over your face
as if you were present, and though far away, if only
she is alive, she loves you still.
21 When thy sick heart broods upon thy just grief,
can it be that soft slumber leaves thy mindful breast ?
Then does woe steal upon thee, while my couch and
my place touch thee, not permitting thee to forget
rne ? Does anguish come and the night seem end-
less, and do the weary bones of thy tossing body
ache ? I doubt not that these and other things
occur, that thy love gives token of sorrow's pain, that
thou art tortured not less than the Theban princess l
wKen she beheld blood-stained Hector dragged by
the Thessalian chariot.2
31 Yet what prayer to utter I know not, nor can I
say what feeling I wish thee to have. Art thou sad ?
I am angry that I am the cause of thy grief. Thou
art not sad ? Yet, I would have thee worthy of a
lost husband. Bewail in very truth thy loss, gentlest
of wives, live through a time of sorrow for my mis-
fortunes. Weep for my woe ; in weeping there is a
certain joy, for by tears grief is sated and relieved.
And would that thou hadst to mourn not my life but
my death, that by my death thou hadst been left
1 Andromache. * The car of Achilles.
173
OVID
spiritus hie per te patrias exisset in auras,
sparsissent lacrimae pectora nostra piae,
supremoque die notum spectantia caelum
texissent digiti lumina nostra tui,
45 et cinis in tumulo positus iacuisset avito,
tactaque nascenti corpus haberet humus ;
denique, ut et vixi, sine crimine mortuus essem.
nunc mea supplicio vita pudenda suo est.
me miserum, si tu, cum diceris exulis uxor,
60 avertis vultus et subit ora rubor !
me miserum, si turpe putas mihi nupta videri !
me miserum, si te iam pudet esse meam !
tempus ubi est illud, quo te iactare solebas
coniuge, nee nomen dissimulare viri ?
55 tempus ubi est, quo te l — nisi non vis ilia referri —
et dici, memini, iuvit et esse meam ?
utque proba dignum est, omni tibi dote placebam :
addebat veris multa faventis amor,
nee, quern praeferres — ita res tibi magna videbar —
60 quemque tuum malles esse, vir alter erat.
nunc quoque ne pudeat, quod sis mihi nupta ;
tuusque
non debet dolor hinc, debet abesse pudor.
cum cecidit Capaneus subito temerarius ictu,
num legis Euadnen erubuisse viro ?
65 nee quia rex mundi compescuit ignibus ignes,
ipse suis Phaethon infitiandus erat.
nee Semele Cadmo facta est aliena parenti,
quod precibus periit ambitiosa suis.
nee tibi, quod saevis ego sum lovis ignibus ictus,
70 purpureus molli fiat in ore pudor.
1 illud quo te vel illud nisi non vis vel illud quo ni (non)
fugis corr. r
174
TRISTIA, IV. in. 41-70
alone ! This spirit of mine through thy aid would
have gone forth to its native air, loving tears would
have wet my breast, my eyes upon the last day gazing
at a familiar sky would have been closed by thy
fingers, my ashes would have been laid to rest in the
tomb of my fathers and the ground that I touched at
birth would possess my body ; as I lived, in fine, so
should I have died, — without crime. Now my life
must be shamed by its own punishment. Wretched
am I if, when thou art called an exile's wife, thou
dost avert- thy gaze and a blush steals over thy face !
Wretched am I if thou countest it disgrace to be
thought my bride ! Wretched am I if now thou art
ashamed to be mine ! Where is that time when thou
wert wont to boast of thy husband and not conceal
that husband's name ? Where is that time when —
unless thou wouldst not have such things recalled —
thou wert glad (I remember) to be called and to
be mine ? As becomes a good woman thou wert
pleased with every endowment I possessed and to
those which were real thy partial love added many.
There was no other man for thee to put before me —
so important an object did I seem to thee — nor any
whom thou didst prefer to be thy husband. Even
now be not ashamed that thou art wedded to me ;
this should bring thee grief, but no shame. When
fell rash Capaneus by a sudden stroke, dost thou read
that Euadne blushed for her husband ? Not because
the king of the world quelled fire with fire was
Phaethon to be denied by his friends. Semele was
not estranged from her father, Cadmus, because she
perished through her ambitious prayers. Nor upon
thy tender face, because I have been smitten by
Jove's flame, let red shame be spread. But rather
175
OVID
sed magis in curam nostri consurge tuendi,
exemplumque mihi coniugis esto bonae,
materiamque tuis tristem virtutibus imple :
ardua per pracceps gloria vadit iter.
75 Hectora quis nosset, si felix Troia fuisset ?
publica virtutis per mala facta via est.
ars tua, Tiphy, iacet, si non sit in aequore fluctus :
si valeant homines, ars tua, Phoebe, iacet.
quae latet inque bonis cessat non cognita rebus,
80 apparet virtus arguiturque malis.
dat tibi nostra locum tituli fortuna, caputque
conspicuum pictas qua tua tollat, habet.
utere temporibus, quorum nunc munerc facta est l
et patet in laudes area lata tuas.
IV.
O qui, nominibus cum sis generosus avorum,
exsuperas morum nobilitate genus,
cuius inest animo patrii candoris imago,
non careat nervis 2 candor ut istc suis,
5 cuius in ingenio est patriae facundia linguae,
qua prior in Latio non fuit ulla foro —
quod minime volui, positis pro nomine signis
dictus es : ignoscas laudibus ipse tuis.
nil ego peccavi ; tua te bona cognita produnt
10 si, quod es, appares, culpa soluta rnea est.
nee tamen officium nostro tibi carmine factum
principe tarn iusto posse nocere puto.
ipse pater patriae — quid enim est civilius illo ?-
sustinet in nostro carmine saepe legi,
1 ficta est vel freta es : facta est Ehwald
2 numeris *r
1 Perhaps Messalinus, cf. Ex P. l. 7, ii. 2.
176
TRISTIA, IV. in. 71— iv. 14
rise to the charge of my defence and be thou for me
the model of a noble wife. Flood a sad theme with
thy virtues : glory scales the heights by steepest
paths. Who would know Hector, if Troy had been
happy ? By public ills was the way of virtue builded.
Thy skill, Tiphys, lies inert if there be no wave upon
the sea : if men be in health, thy skill, Phoebus, lies
inert.
79 The virtue which lies hidden and hangs back un-
recognized in times of prosperity, comes to the fore
and asserts itself in adversity. My fate gives thee
scope for fame and provides a chance for thy loyal
love to raise a conspicuous head. Avail thyself of
the crisis through whose gift a mighty field has been
created, open for thy praise.
IV. To A NOBLE FRIEND l
O you who through ancestral names have noble
birth yet surpass your birth in nobility of character,
whose mind reflects your father's candour yet so
that it lacks not powers all its own, in whose intellect
resides the eloquence of your father's tongue which
no other in the Latin forum has excelled — I have
addressed you not at all as I wished, with symbols
instead of a name ; do you pardon these praises
that are all your own. I have been to blame in
naught, for your virtues are recognized and betray
you. If you appear to be what you really are I am
acquitted of fault.
11 And yet the homage rendered to you by my verse
cannot, I think, harm you with so just a prince ; even
the Father of his Country — for who is milder than
he ? — submits to frequent mention in my verse, nor
N 177
OVID
15 nee prohibere potest, quia res est publica Caesar,
et de communi pars quoque nostra bono est.
luppiter ingeniis praebet sua numina vatum,
seque celebrari quolibet ore sinit.
causa tua exemplo superorum tuta duonim est,
20 quorum hie aspicitur, creditur ille deus.
ut non debuerim, tamen hoc ego crimen habebo :
noti fuit arbitrii littera nostra tui.
nee nova, quod tecum loquor, est iniuria nostra,
ineolumis cum quo saepe locutus eram.
25 quo vereare minus ne sim tibi crimen amicus,
invidiam, siqua est, auctor habere potest.
nam tuns est primis cultus mihi semper ab annis —
hoc certe noli dissimulare — pater,
ingeniumque meurn (potes hoc meminisse) probabat
30 plus etiam quam me iudice dignus eram ;
deque meis illo referebat versibus ore,
in quo pars magnae nobilitatis erat.
non igitur tibi nunc, quod me domus ista recepit,
sed prius auctori sunt data verba tuo.1
36 nee 2 data sunt, mihi crede, tamen : sed in omnibus
actis
ultima si demas, vita tuenda mea est.
hanc quoque, qua perii, culpam scelus esse negabis,
si tanti series sit tibi nota mali.
aut timor aut error nobis, prius obfuit error.
40 a ! 3 sine me fati non meminisse mei ;
neve retractando nondum coeuntia rumpam 4
vulnera : vix illis proderit ipsa quies.
ergo ut iure damus poenas, sic afuit omne
peccato facinus consiliumque meo ;
1 sed sunt auctori non tua verba tuo
* non : nee r 8 at 4 rumpe vel rupem
"" 1 Jupiter and Augustus. ""
178
TRISTIA, IV. TV. 15-y
can he prevent it, for Caesar is the state, and of
the common good I too have a share. Jupiter offers
his divinity to poets' art, permitting himself to he
praised by every mouth. Your case is safeguarded
by the example of two superhuman beings 1 of whom
one in men's sight, the other in their belief, is a god.
Even though I have transgressed duty, yet I shall he
the one accused, for my letter was not under your
control. And 'tis no new wrong that I commit in
speaking with you, for in the time of my security I
often spoke with you. You need not fear that my
friendship will be laid as a charge against you ; the
odium, if there be any, can be assigned to him who
was responsible. For from my earliest years I
honoured your father 2 — this at least desire not to
conceal — and my talent, you may remember, was
approved by him even more than in my own judg-
ment I deserved ; of my verse he used to speak with
those lips in which lay part of his great renown.
Not you then, if your house made me welcome, but
your father before you was cheated Yet cheating
there was none, believe me, but in all its acts, if
you except the very latest, my life is worthy of
protection. Even this fault which has ruined me
you will say is no crime, if you should come to know
the course of this great evil. Either timidity or a
mistake — mistake first — has injured me. Ah, let me
not remember my fate ! Let me not handle and
break open wounds that are not yet closed ! Scarce
will rest itself relieve them.
43 So then I am justly paying a penalty, but no act
or design was connected with my sin. And this the
2 M. Valerius Messallar— if the noble addressed is Messa-
linus.
179
OVID
45 idque deus sentit ; pro quo nee lumen ademptum,
nee mihi detractas possidet alter opes,
forsitan hanc ipsam, vivam modo, finiet olim,
tempore cum fuerit lenior ira, fugam.
nunc precor hinc alio iubeat discedere, si non
60 nostra verecundo vota pudore carent.
mitius exilium pauloque propinquius opto,
quique sit a saevo longius hoste locus ;
quantaque in Augusto dementia, si quis ab illo
hoc peteret pro me, forsitan ille daret.
65 frigida me cohibent Euxini litora Ponti :
dictus ab antiquis Axenus ille fuit.
nam neque iactantur moderatis aequora ventis,
nee placidos portus hospita navis adit,
sunt circa gentes. quae praedam sanguine quaerunt ;
60 nee minus infida terra timetur aqua.
illi, quos audis hominum gaudere cruore,
paene sub eiusdem sideris axe iacent,
nee procul a nobis locus est, ubi Taurica dira
caede pharetratae spargitur ara deae.
65 haec prius, ut memorant, non invidiosa nefandis
nee cupienda bonis regna Thoantis erant.
hie pro supposita virgo Pelopei'a cerva
sacra deae coluit qualiacumque suae.
quo postquam, dubium pius an sceleratus, Orestes
70 exactus Furiis venerat ipse suis,
et comes exemplum veri Phoceus amoris,
qui duo corporibus mentibus unus erant,
protinus evincti l tristem ducuntur ad aram,
quae stabat geminas ante cruenta fores.
1 evict!
1 Euxinus, " hospitable," Axenos, " inhospitable," cf.
Tr. in. 13 (end).
180
TRISTIA, IV. iv. 45-74
God realizes, and so life was not taken from me nor
my wealth stripped away to become the property of
another. Perchance this very exile, if only I live,
he will sometime bring to an end when time shall
soften his wrath. Now I am begging him to order
me to another place, if my prayer lacks not respect
and modesty. A milder place of exile, a little nearer
home, I pray — a place farther from the fierce enemy ;
and such is Augustus's mercy that if one should ask
this of him in my behalf, it may be he would grant it.
65 The cold shores of the Pontus Euxinus keep me ;
by men of old it was called Axenus.1 For its waters
are tossed by no moderate winds and there are no
quiet harbours visited by foreign ships. Round about
are tribes eager for plunder and bloodshed, and the
land is not less to be feared than the treacherous
sea. They whom you hear as rejoicing in men's gore
dwell almost beneath the axis of the same constella-
tion as myself, and not far away from me is the place
where the Tauric altar of the quivered goddess 2
is sprinkled with the blood of murder. This in
former times, they say, was the realm of Thoas, not
envied by the wicked nor desired by the good. Here
the Pelopian maid,3 she for whom the doe was
substituted, cared for the offerings (whatever their
nature ! 4) to her goddess. Hither came Orestes,
whether in loyalty or crime, I know not, driven by
his own furies, and his Phocean comrade,5 the model
of sincere love ; these twain were a single heart in
two bodies. Forthwith in bonds they were brought
to the harsh altar that stood reeking with blood before
8 The Taurian Diana. 8 Iphigenia.
* Human sacrifices. & Pylades.
181
OVID
75 nee tamen hunc sua mors, nee mors sua terruit ilium
alter ob alterius funera maestus erat.
et iam constiterat stricto mucrone sacerdos,
cinxerat et Graias barbara vitta comas,
cum vice sermonis fratrem cognovit, et illi
80 pro nece complexus Iphigenia dedit.
laeta deae signum crudelia sacra perosae
transtulit ex illis in meliora locis.
haec igitur regio, magni paene ultima mundi,
quam fugere homines dique, propinqua mihi est :
85 aque 1 mea terra 2 prope sunt funebria sacra,
si modo Nasoni barbara terra sua est.
o utinam venti, quibus est ablatus Orestes,
placato referant et mea vela deo !
V.
O mihi dilectos inter pars prima sodales,
unica fortunis ara reperta meis
cuius ab adloquiis anima haec moribunda revixit,
ut vigil infusa Pallade flamma solet ;
5 qui veritus non es portus aperire fideles
fulmine percussae confugiumque rati ;
cuius eram censu non me sensurus egentem,
si Caesar patrias eripuisset opes,
temporis oblitum dum me rapit impetus huius,
10 excidit heu nomen quam mihi paene tuum !
tu tamen agnoscis tactusque cupidine laudis,
1 ille ego sum ' cuperes dicere posse palam.
certe ego, si sineres, titulum tibi reddere vellem,
et raram famae conciliare fidem.
1 atque a mcam terram
1 Augustus. * i.e. when oil is poured upon it.
182
TRISTIA, IV. iv. 75— v. 14
the double doors. Yet neither the one nor the other
feared his own death : each sorrowed for the other's
fate. Already had the priestess taken her stand
with drawn knife, her Grecian tresses bound with a
barbarian fillet, when in their talk she recognized
her brother and in the stead of death Iphigenia gave
him her embrace. In joy she bore away the statue
of the goddess, who detested cruel rites, from that
place to a better.
83 Such then is the region, almost the farthest in the
vast world, fled by men and gods, that is near me.
Near to my land — if a barbarian land is Naso's own
— are the rites of death. O may the winds which
bore Orestes away, waft my sails also homeward,
under the favour of a god 1 appeased !
V. To A LOYAL FRIEND
O thou who art foremost among my beloved
comrades, who didst prove to be the sole altar for
my fortunes, whose words of comfort revived this
dying soul, as the flame is wont to wake at the touch
of Pallas,2 thou who didst not fear to open a secure
harbour of refuge for a bark smitten by the thunder-
bolt ; through whose means I should not have felt
myself in want had Caesar taken from me my
inherited wealth — while my fervour hurries me on in
forgetfulness of my present state, how nearly, ah
me ! have I let slip thy name ? Yet dost thou
recognize it, and touched by desire for praise thou
wouldst wish thou couldst say openly, *' I am the
man/' Surely if thou wouldst permit, I would
render honour to thee and unite rare fidelity to fame.
183
OVID
15 ne noceam grato vereor tibi carmine, neve
intempestivus nominis obstet honor,
quod licet (et l tutum est) intra tua pectora gaude
meque tui memorem teque fuisse pium,
utque facis, remis ad opem luctare ferendam,
20 dum veniat placido mollior aura deo ;
et tutare caput nulli servabile, si non
qui mersit Stygia sublevet illud aqua ;
teque, quod est rarum, praesta constanter ad omne
indeclinatae munus amicitiae.
25 sic tua processus habeat fortuna perennes,
sic ope non egeas ipse iuvesque tuos ;
sic aequet tua nupta virum bonitate perenni,
incidat et vestro nulla 2 querella toro ;
diligat et semper socius de sanguinis illo,
30 quo pius affectu Castora frater amat ;
sic iuvenis similisque tibi sit natus, et ilium
moribus agnoscat quilibet esse tuum ;
sic faciat socerum taeda te nata iugali,
nee tardum iuveni det tibi nomen avi.
VI.
Tempore ruricolae patiens fit taurus aratri,
praebet et incurvo colla premenda iugo ;
tempore paret equus lentis animosus habenis,
et placido duros accipit ore lupos ;
6 tempore Poenorum compescitur ira leonum,
nee feritas animo, quae fuit ante, manet ;
quaeque sui monitis 3 obtemperat Inda magistri
belua, servitium tempore victa subit.
1 hoc 2 nulla] rara 8 iussis
184.
TRIST1A, IV. v. 15— vi. 8
But I fear that my grateful verse may do thee hurt,
that the unseasonable honour of renown may stand
in thy light. This thou mayst do, and 'tis safe :
rejoice within thine own breast that I have remem-
bered thee, and that thou hast been loyal, and as
thou art doing, strain thine oars to bear me aid until
the god is appeased and a gentler breeze shall come ;
save a life that none can save unless he who sub-
merged it lifts it from the Stygian waters, and give
thyself — a rare thing it is — to every service of un-
swerving friendship. So may thy fortune make
constant progress, so mayst thou need no aid and
mayst thou aid thine own ! So may thy bride equal
her husband in constant goodness and no complaint
befall your union. Mayst thou have also the love
of him who shares thy blood, such love as his loyal
brother l feels for Castor. So may thy youthful
son be like thee and may his character cause all to
know him as thine own. So may the marriage torch
of thy daughter make thee a father-in-law and soon
give thee, still in thy prime, the name of grandsire !
VI. TIME BRINGS NO ANODYNE
By time the peasant's bullock is made submissive
to the plough, offering his neck to the pressure of the
curving yoke ; time renders the mettlesome horse
obedient to the pliant bridle as he receives with
gentle mouth the hard bit ; time quiets the rage of
Phoenician lions so that their former wildness abides
not in their spirits ; the Indian brute,2 obedient to
the commands of her master, vanquished by time,
1 Pollux. « The elephant.
185
OVID
tempus ut extensis tumeat facit uva racemis,
10 vixque merum capiant grana quod intus habent ;
tempus et in canas semen producit aristas,
et ne sint tristi poma sapor e cavet.1
hoc tenuat dentem terram renovantis 2 aratri,
hoc rigidas silices, hoc adamanta terit ;
15 hoc etiam saevas paulatim mitigat iras,
hoc minuit luctus maestaque corda levat.
cuncta potest igitur tacito pede lapsa vetustas
praeterquam curas attenuare meas.
ut patria careo, bis frugibus area trita est,
20 dissiluit nudo pressa bis uva pede.
nee quaesita tamen spatio patientia longo est,
mensque mali sensum nostra recentis habet.
scilicet et veteres fugiunt iuga saepe iuvenci,
et domitus freno saepe repugnat equus.
25 tristior est etiam praesens aerumna priore :
ut sit enim sibi par, crevit et aucta mora est.
nee tarn nota mihi, quam sunt, mala nostra fuerunt ;
nunc 3 magis hoc, quo sunt cognitiora, gravant.
est quoque non nihilum 4 vires afferre recentes,
30 nee praeconsumptum temporis esse malis.
fortior in fulva novus est luctator harena,
quam cui sunt tarda brachia fessa mora.
integer est melior nitidis gladiator in armis,
quam cui tela suo sanguine tincta rubent.
35 fert bene praecipites navis modo facta procellas :
quamlibet exiguo solvitur imbre vetus.
nos quoque quae ferimus, tulimus patientius ante
quam 5 mala sunt longa multiplicata die !
1 facit
2 semoventis ve I scindentis vel patientis : renovantis S~
a nunc] sed * minimum 6 quae : quam Ehwald
186
TRISTIA, IV. vi. 9-38
submits to servitude. Time causes the grape to
swell on the spreading clusters until the berries
scarce hold the juice within ; time develops the seed
into white ears of grain and takes heed that fruits
be not sour. Time thins the ploughshare as it renews
the soil, it wears away hard flint and adamant ; it
gradually softens even fierce anger, it lessens grief
and relieves sorrowing hearts. All things then can
be weakened by the passing of silent-footed time
save my woes. Since I have been bereft of my
native land, twice has the threshing-floor been
smoothed for the grain, twice has the grape burst
apart beneath the pressure of naked feet. And yet
the long time has not given me fortitude ; my mind
has the sense of a woe still fresh.
23 Assuredly even aged bullocks often shun the yoke,
and the well-broken horse often fights the bit. My
present woe is harsher even than of old, for though
still like itself, it has grown and increased with time.
Nor were my evils so well known to me as now they
are ; now that I know them better, they weigh the
more heavily. It is something also to apply to them
strength still fresh and not to have been worn out
beforehand by the ills of time. Stronger is the fresh
wrestler on the yellow sands than one whose arms are
wearied by slow waiting. Unwounded in shining
armour the gladiator is better than the one whose
weapons are stained red with his own blood. The
new-built ship bears well the headlong blast, even a
little squall breaks up the old one. I too of old bore
more submissively what I am now bearing. How
have my woes been multiplied by the lapse of time !
187
OVID
crcdite, deficio, nostroque a corpore quantum
40 auguror, accedunt tempora parva mails.
nam neque sunt vires, nee qui color esse solebat :
vix habeo tenuem, quae tegat ossa, cutem.
corpore sed mens est aegro magis aegra, malique
in circumspectu stat sine fine sui.
45 urbis abest facies, absunt, mea cura, sodales,
et, qua nulla mihi carior, uxor abest.
vulgus adest Scythicum bracataque turba Getarum ;
sic me 1 quae video non videoque movcnt.2
una tamen spes est quae me soletur in istis,
60 haec fore morte mea non diuturna mala.
VII.
Bis me sol adiit gelidae post frigora brumae,
bisque suum tacto Pisce peregit iter.
tempore tarn longo cur non tua dextera versus
quamlibet in paucos officiosa fuit ?
6 cur tua cessavit pietas, scribentibus illis,
exiguus nobis cum quibus usus erat ?
cur, quotiens3 alicui chartae sua vincula dempsi,
illam speravi nomen habere tuum ?
di faciant ut saepe tua sit epistula dextra
10 scripta, sed e multis reddita nulla mihi.
quod precor, esse liquet. credam prius ora Medusae
Gorgonis anguineis 4 cincta fuisse comis,
esse canes utero sub virginis, esse Chimaeram,
a truce quae flammis separet angue learn,
1 me] mala a nocent
3 totiens 4 anguinis 5"
188
TRISTIA, IV. vi. 39— vn. 14
I assure you I am failing, and so far as I can prophesy
from my bodily strength, but little time remains for
my sorrows. For I have neither the strength nor
the colour I used to have ; my thin skin scarce
covers my bones. My body is sick but my mind is
worse, engrossed in gazing endlessly upon its suffer-
ing. Far from me is the sight of the city, far from
me my beloved friends, far from me she who is dearer
than all, my wife. Before me is a crowd of Scythians,
a trousered throng of Getae. Thus what I behold
and what I do not behold affect me. Yet there is
one hope that consoles me in all this : my death will
prevent these ills from enduring long.
VII. A REPROACH
Twice has the sun drawn near me after the cold
of icy winter, twice completed his journey by touch-
ing the Fish.1 In so long a time why has not thy
hand done its duty and completed even a few lines ?
Why has thy loyalty failed while they are writing
with whom I had but slight companionship ? Why,
whenever I have removed its bonds from some letter,
have I hoped that it contained thy name ? May the
gods grant that thou hast often written a letter but
that not one of the many has been delivered to me.
My prayer is true, 'tis clear. I'll sooner believe that
the gorgon Medusa's face was garlanded with snaky
locks, that there is a maiden with dogs below her
middle,2 that there is a Chimaera, formed of a lioness
and a fierce serpent held apart by flame, that there
1 The sun enters the constellation of the Fish in February.
2 Scylla.
189
OVID
15 quadrupedesque hominis1cumpectore pectora iunctos,
tergeminumque virum tergeminumque canem,
Sphingaque et Harpyias serpentipedesque Gigantes,
centimanumque Gyan semibovemque virum.
haec ego cuncta prius, quam te, carissime, credam
20 mutatum curam deposuisse mei.
innumeri montes inter me teque viaeque
fluminaque et campi nee freta pauca iacent.
mille potest causis a te quae littera saepe
missa sit in nostras rara venire manus ;
25 mille tamen causas scribendo vinee frequenter,
excusem ne te semper, amice, mihi.
VIII.
lam mea cycneas imitantur tempora plumas,
inficit et nigras alba senccta comas,
iam subeunt anni fragiles et inertior aetas,
iamque parum firmo me mihi ferre grave est.
6 nunc erat, ut posito deberem fine laborum
vivere, me nullo 2 sollicitante metu,
quaeque meae semper placuerunt otia menti
carpere et in studiis molliter esse meis,
et parvam celebrare domum veteresque Penates
10 et quae nunc domino rura paterna carent,
inque sinu dominae carisque sodalibus inque
securus patria consenuisse mea.
haec mea sic quondam peragi speraverat aetas :
hos ego sic annos ponere dignus eram.
15 non ita dis visum est, qui me terraque marique
actum8 Sarmaticis exposuere locis.
1 homines vel hominum
8 cum nullo a iactum
190
TRISTIA, IV. vn. 15— vin. 16
are fourfooted creatures whose breasts are joined to
those of a man,1 a triple man 2 and a triple dog,3
a Sphinx and Harpies and snaky -footed giants, a
hundred-handed Gyas and a man who is half a bull.4
All these things will I believe rather than that thou,
dear one, hast changed and put aside thy love for me.
Countless mountains lie between thee and me, and
roads, and rivers, and plains, and not a few seas. A
thousand reasons can exist why the letters often sent
by thee rarely reach my hands. But overcome the
thousand reasons by writing often, lest I be forever
making my own excuses for thee, my friend.
VIII. AN EXILE'S DECLINING YEARS
Already my temples are like the plumage of a
swan, for white old age is bleaching my dark hair.
Already the years of frailty and life's inactive time
are stealing upon me, and already 'tis hard for me in
my weakness to bear up. Now 'twere time that I
should of right cease my toils and live with no
harassing fears, to enjoy the leisure that always
pleased my taste, comfortably engaged in my pur-
suits, devoting myself to my humble house and its
old Penates, the paternal fields that are now bereft
of their master, peacefully growing old in my lady's
embrace, among my dear comrades and in my native
land. For such consummation as this did my youth
once hope ; thus to pass these years did I deserve.
15 Not so have the gods decreed ; they have driven
me over land and sea and cast me forth in the region
1 Centaurs. 8 Geryon.
• Cerberus. * The Minotaur.
191
OVID
in cava ducuntur quassae navalia puppes,
ne temere in mediis dissoluantur aquis.
ne cadat et multas palmas inhonestet adeptus,1
20 languidus in pratis gramina carpit equus.
miles ubi emeritis non est satis utilis annis,
ponit ad antiques, quae tulit, arrna Lares,
sic igitur, tarda vires minuente senecta,
me quoque donari iam rude tempus erat.
25 tempus erat nee me peregrinum dueere caelum,
nee siccam Getico fonte levare sitim,
sed modo, quos habui, vacuos secedere in hortos,
nunc hominum visu rursus et urbe frui.
sic animo quondam non divinante futura
30 optabam placide vivere posse senex.
fata repugnarunt, quae, cum mihi tempora prima
mollia praebuerint, posteriora gravant.
iamque decern lustris omni sine labe peractis,
parte premor vitae deteriore meae ;
35 nee procul a metis, quas paene tenere videbar,
curriculo gravis est facia ruina meo.
ergo ilium demens in me saevire coegi,
mitius inmcnsus quo nihil orbis habet ?
ipsaque delictis victa est dementia nostris,
40 nee tamen errori vita negata meo est ?
vita procul patria peragenda sub axe Boreo,
qua maris Euxini terra sinistra iacet.
hoc mihi si Delphi 2 Dodonaque diceret ipsa,
esse videretur vanus uterque locus.
1 adeniptus. vd adeptas
2 delphis vd dclphos corr. Scaliger
1 Gladiators who had finished their service were presented
with a wooden sword.
192
"TRISTIA, IV. vni. 17-44
of Sarmatia. Battered ships are drawn into the
hollow docks lest to no purpose they go to pieces
in the waters' midst. Lest the steed that has won
many palms should fall, dishonouring his victories,
lazily now he crops the meadow grass. When the
soldier after years of service is no longer useful, he
lays the arms he has borne before the good old
Lares. In this way, since slow old age is lessening
my strength, 'twere time for me also to be presented
with the wooden sword.1 Twere time for me to
breathe no foreign air nor slake my parching thirst
with Getic water, but now to withdraw into the
retirement of the gardens I once had, now once again
to enjoy the sight of men and of the city.
29 Thus with a mind unprophetic of the future did I
once pray for power to live quietly when old. The
Fates opposed, for they brought comfort to my early
years, to the later ones distress. Now after I have
lived ten lustra unblemished,2 at a harder time of
life I am o'erwhelmed ; not far from the goal, which
I seemed almost to have within my reach, my car
has suffered a heavy fall. Did I then in my madness
force him into rage against me who is more gracious
than anything the wide world possesses ? Has his
very mercy been overcome by my sins, and yet has
my error not denied me life ? This life I must pass
far from my country, beneath the pole of Boreas in
the land to the left of the Euxine sea.3 If this had
been told me by Delphi or Dodona herself,4 both
places would have seemed to me unworthy of belief.
2 Ovid was about fifty when he was banished, c. A.D. 8.
3 See note on Tr. iv. 1. 60.
4 Delphi, the oracle of Apollo ; Dodona, the oracle of
Zeus.
O 193
OVID
45 nil adeo validum est, adamas licet alliget illud,
ut maneat rapido firmius igne lovis ;
nil ita sublime est supraque pericula tendit
non sit ut inferius suppositumque deo.
nam quamquam vitio pars est contracta malorum,
50 plus tamen exitii numinis ira dedit.
at vos admoniti nostris quoque casibus este,
aequantem superos emeruisse virum.
IX.
Si licet et pateris, nomen facinusque tacebo,
et tua Lethaeis acta dabuntur aquis,
nostraque vincetur lacrimis dementia ] seris,
fac modo te pateat paenituisse tui ;
5 fac modo te damnes cupiasque eradere vitae
tempora, si possis, Tisiphonea tuae,
sin minus, et flagrant odio tua pectora nostro,
induet infelix arma coacta dolor,
sim licet extremum, sicut sum, missus in orbem,
10 nostra suas istinc 2 porriget ira manus.
omnia, si nescis, Caesar mihi iura reliquit,
et sola est patria poena carere mea.
et patriam, modo sit sospes, speramus ab illo :
saepe lovis telo quercus adusta viret.
15 denique vindictae si sit mihi nulla facultas,
Pierides vires et sua tela dabunt.
quod Scythicis habitem longe summotiis in oris,
siccaque sint oculis proxima signa meis,
1 dementia 2 istic vd isto (istuc r) : istinc
1 Augustus.
194-
TRISTIA, IV. vin. 45— ix. 18
45 Nothing is so strong, though it be bound with
adamant, as to withstand by greater might the swift
thunderbolt of Jupiter ; nothing is so lofty or reaches
so far above perils that it is not beneath a god and
subject to him. For although by fault I drew upon
me a part of my ills, yet more ruin has befallen me
because of the wrath of a divine power. But be ye
warned by my fate also that ye make yourselves
worthy of the man l who is like unto the gods 1
IX. A THREAT
If I may and you allow it, I will keep silent your
name and deed, consigning your acts to Lethe's
waters, and my mercy shall be won by tears that are
late in coming, if only you make it clear that you have
repented, if only through self-condemnation you
show yourself eager to erase from your life, if but
you can, that period of Tisiphone. But if not, if
your heart still burns with hate for me, unhappy rage
shall don perforce its arms. Though I be banished,
as I have been, to the edge of the world, from thence
shall my wrath stretch forth its hands. All my
rights, if you know it not, Caesar has left me, and
my only punishment is to be parted from my country.
Even my country, if only he lives on, I hope as a boon
from him ; often the oak scorched by the bolt of Jove
becomes green once more. In fine if I should have
no opportunity for vengeance, the daughters of
Pieria will give me strength and their own weapons.
What though I dwell so far removed on the Scythian
shores with the constellations that are ever dry close
195
OVID
nostra per inmensas ibunt praeconia gentes,
20 quodque querar notum qua patet orbis erit.
ibit ad occasum quicquid dicemus ab ortu,
testis et Hesperiae vocis Eous erit.
trans ego tellurem, trans altas audiar imdas,
et gemitus vox est magna futura mei,
25 nee tua te sontem tantummodo saecula norint :
perpetuae crimen poster! tatis eris.
iam feror in pugnas et nondum cornua sumpsi,
nee mibi sumendi causa sit ulla velim.
Circus adhuc eessat ; spargit iam torvus 5 harenam
30 taurus et infesto iam pede pulsat humum.
hocquoque,quamvolui, plus est. cane,Musa,receptus,
dum licet huic nomen dissimulare suum.
X.
Ille ego qui fuerim, tenerorum lusor amorum,
quem legis, ut noris, accipe posteritas.
Sulmo mihi patria est, gelidis uberrimus undis,
milia qui novies distat ab urbe decem.
6 editus hie ego sum, nee non, ut tempora noris,
cum cecidit fato consul uterque pari :
si quid id est, usque a proavis 2 vetus ordinis heres
non modo fortunae munere factus eques.
nee stirps prima fui ; genito sum fratre creatus,
10 qui tribus ante quater mensibus ortus erat.
Lucifer amborum natalibus aflfuit idem :
una celebrata est per duo liba dies ;
1 tamen acer
2 si quid (quis) et a proavis usque est
196
TRISTIA, IV. ix. 19— x. 12
to my eyes, my herald-call shall pass through limitless
peoples, my complaint shall be known wherever the
world extends. Whatever I say shall pass to the
setting sun from its rising and the East shall bear
witness to the voice of the West. Across the land,
across deep waters I shall be heard, and mighty
shall be the cry of my lament. Not alone your own
age shall know you guilty ; to everlasting posterity
you shall be a criminal. Already I am rushing into
battle though I have not yet taken up arms, and I
would I had no cause to take them up. The arena
is still quiet, but the grim bull is already tossing the
sand, already pawing the ground with angry hoof.
Even this is more than I wished : Muse, sound the
retreat, while this man still has the power to con-
ceal his name.
X. THE POET'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY l
That thou mayst know who I was, I that playful
poet of tender love whom thou readest, hear my
words, thou of the after time. Sulmo is my native
place, a land rich in ice-cold streams, thrice thirty
miles from the city. There first I saw the light, and
if thou wouldst know the date, 'twas when both
consuls fell under stress of like fate. I was heir to
rank (if rank is aught) that came from forefathers of
olden time — no knight fresh made by fortune's gift.
I was not the first born, for my birth befell after that
of a brother, thrice four months my senior. The
same day-star beheld the birth of us both : one
birthday was celebrated by the offering of our two
1 See Introd. pp. vii if.
197
OVID
haec est armiferae l festis de quinque Minervae,
quae fieri pugna prima cruenta solet.
15 protinus excolimur teneri curaque parentis
imus ad insignes urbis ab arte viros.
f rater ad eloquium viridi tendebat ab aevo,
fortia verbosi natus ad arma fori ;
at mihi iam puero caelestia sacra placebant,
20 inque suum furtim Musa trahebat opus.
saepe pater dixit " studium quid inutile temptas ?
Maeonides nullas ipse reliquit opes."
mot us eram dictis, to toque Helicone relicto
scribere temptabam 2 verba soluta modis.
25 sponte sua carmen numeros veniebat ad aptos,
et quod temptabam scribere 3 versus erat.
interea tacito passu labentibus annis
liberior fratri sumpta mihique toga est,
induiturque umeris 4 cum lato purpura clavo,
30 et studium nobis, quod fuit ante, manet.
iamque decem vitae frater geminaverat annos,
cum perit, et coepi parte carere mei.
cepimus et tenerae primos aetatis honores,
eque5 viris quondam pars tribus una fui.
35 curia restabat : clavi mensura coacta est ;
maius erat nostris viribus illud onus,
nee patiens corpus, nee mens fuit apta labori,
sollicitaeque fugax ambitionis eram,
1 armigerae 2 conabar 8 dicere
4 humeros 6 hecque vel deque
1 Offered to the genius, cf. Tr. iii. 13. 2.
2 The festival of Quinquatrua (March 19-23), on the last
four days of which combats occurred. The pott was then
born on March 20, 43 B.C., when both consuls, Hirtius and
Pansa, fell in the battles near Mutina, rf. v. 6.
198
TRISTIA, IV. x. 13-38
cakes l — that day among the five sacred to armed
Minerva which is wont to be the first stained by the
blood of combat.2 While still of tender age we began
our training, and through our father's care we came
to attend upon men of the city distinguished in the
liberal arts. My brother's bent even in the green of
years was oratory : he was born for the stout weapons
of the wordy forum. But to me even as a boy service
of the divine gave delight and stealthily the Muse was
ever drawing me aside to do her work. Often my
father said, " Why do you try a profitless pursuit ?
Even the Maeonian left no wealth." I was influenced
by what he said and wholly forsaking Helicon I tried
to write words freed from rhythm, yet all unbidden
song would come upon befitting numbers and what-
ever 1 tried to write was verse.
27 Meanwhile as the silent-pacing years slipped past
we brothers assumed the toga of a freer life and our
shoulders put on the broad stripe of purple while
still our pursuits remained as before. And now my
brother had seen but twice ten years of life when he
passed away, and thenceforth I was bereft of half
myself. I advanced so far as to receive the first
office granted to tender youth, for in those days I
was one third of the board of three.3 The senate
house awaited me, but I narrowed my purple
stripe 4 : that was a burden too great for my powers.
I had neither a body to endure the toil nor a mind
suited to it ; by nature I shunned the worries of an
3 The tresviri, minor officials. See Introd. p. viiL
4 i.e. he chose to remain a simple knight and refrained from
the pursuit of offices.
199
OVID
et petere Aoniae suadebant tuta sorores
40 otia, iudicio semper amata nieo.
temporis illius colui fovique poetas,
quotque aderant vates, rebar adesse deos.
saepe suas volucres legit mihi grandior aevo,
quaeque nocet x serpens, quae iuvat 2 herba, Macer.
45 saepe suos solitus recitare Propertius ignes,
iure sodalicii, quo 3 mihi iunctus erat.
Ponticus heroo, Bassus quoque clarus iambis
dulcia convictus membra fuere mei.
et tenuit nostras numerosus Horatius aures,
60 dum ferit Ausonia carmina culta lyra.
Vergilium vidi tantum : nee avara Tibullo
tempus amicitiae fata dedere meae.
successor fuit hie tibi, Galle, Propertius illi ;
quartus ab his serie temporis ipse fui.
55 utque ego maiores, sic me colucre minores,
notaque non tarde facta Thalia mea est.
carmina cum primum populo iuvenalia legi,
barba resecta mihi bisve semelve fuit.
moverat ingenium totam cantata per urbem
60 nomine non vero dicta Corinna mihi.
multa quidem scripsi, sed, quae vitiosa putavi,
emendaturis ignibus ipse dedi.
tune quoque, cum fugerem, quaedam placitura
eremavi,
iratus studio carminibusque meis.
65 molle Cupidineis nee inexpugnabile telis
cor mihi, quodque levis causa moveret, erat.
1 nocens vel necet 2 iuvet 3 qni
1 The Muses.
2 Or perhaps " melodious," but cf. Ex P. iv. 2. 33, and the
numeri innumpri of Plautus's epitaph.
8 Vergil and Tibullus died 19 B.C.
200
TRISTIA, IV. x. 39-66
ambitious life and the Aonian sisters l were ever
urging me to seek the security of a retirement I had
ever chosen and loved.
41 The poets of that time I fondly reverenced : all
bards I thought so many present gods. Ofttimes
Macer, already advanced in years, read to me of the
birds he loved, of noxious snakes and healing plants.
Ofttimes Propertius would declaim his flaming verse
by right of the comradeship that joined him to me.
Ponticus famed in epic, Bassus also, famed in iambics,
were pleasant members of that friendly circle. And
Horace of the many rhythms 2 held in thrall our
ears while he attuned his fine-wrought songs to the
Ausonian lyre. Vergil I only saw, and to Tibullus
greedy fate gave no time for friendship with me.3
Tibullus was thy successor, Gallus, and Propertius
his ; after them came I, fourth in order of time.
And as I reverenced older poets so was I reverenced
by the younger, for my Thalia was not slow to
become renowned. When first I read my youthful
songs in public, my beard had been cut but once or
twice. My genius had been stirred by her who was
sung throughout the city, whom I called, not by a
real name, Corinna.4 Much did I write, but what I
thought defective I gave in person to the flames for
their revision. Even when I was setting forth into exile
I burned certain verse 5 that would have found favour,
for I was angry with my calling and with my songs.
65 My heart was ever soft, no stronghold against
Cupid's darts — a heart moved by the slightest
4 The heroine of Ovid's Amores. She was probably
chiefly a creature of his imagination.
6 Including perhaps the Metamorphoses, r/. TV. i. 7. 13,
but other copies of that work existed.
201
OVID
cum tamen hie essem minimoque accenderer igni,
nomine sub nostro fabula nulla fuit.
paene mihi puero nee digna nee u tills uxor
70 est data, quae tempus per breve nupta fuit.
illi successit, quamvis sine crimine coniunx,
non tamen in nostro firma futura toro.
ultima, quae mecum seros permansit in annos,
sustinuit eoniunx exulis esse viri.
75 filia me mea bis prima fecunda iuventa,
sed non ex uno coniuge, fecit avum.
et iam complerat genitor sua fata novemque
addiderat lustris altera lustra novem.
non aliter flevi, quam me fleturus ademptum
80 ille fuit. matri1 proxima busta tuli.
felices ambo tempestiveque sepulti,
ante diem poenae quod periere meae !
me quoque felicem, quod non viventibus illis
sum miser, et de me quod doluere nihil !
85 si tamen extinctis aliquid nisi nomina restat,2
et graeilis structos effugit umbra rogos,
fama, parentales, si vos mea contigit, umbrae,
et sunt in Stygio crimina nostra foro,
scite, precor, causam (nee vos mihi fallere fas est)
90 errorem iussae, non scelus, esse fugae.
Manibus hoc satis est : ad vos, studiosa, revertor,
pectora, quae vitae quaeritis acta meae.
iam mihi canities pulsis melioribus annis
venerat, antiquas miscueratque comas,
1 matrix vel matri r 2 restant
1 A lustrum = five years.
* The court of the lower world in which Minos, Aeacus,
and Khadamarithus were the judges.
202
TRISTIA, IV. x. 67-94
impulse. And yet, though such my nature, though 1
was set aflame by the littlest spark, no scandal became
affixed to my name. When I was scarce more than
a boy a wife unworthy and unprofitable became mine
— mine for but a short space. Into her place came
one, blameless, but not destined to remain my bride.
And last is she who remained with me till the twilight
of my declining years, who has endured to be the
mate of an exile husband. My daughter, twice
fertile, but not of one husband, in her early youth
made me grandsire. And already had my father
completed his allotted span adding to nine lustra l
a second nine. For him I wept no otherwise than
he would have wept for me had I been taken. Next
for my mother I made the offerings to death. Happy
both ! and laid to rest in good season ! since they
passed away before the day of my punishment.
Happy too am I that my misery falls not in their
lifetime and that for me they felt no grief. Yet if
for those whose light is quenched something besides
a name abides, if a slender shade escapes the high-
heaped pyre, if, O spirits of my parents, report of
me has reached you and the charges against me live
in the Stygian court,2 know, I beg you — and you
'tis impious for me to deceive — that the cause of the
exile decreed me is an error, and no crime. Be these
my words to the shades. To you, fond hearts, that
would know the events of my life, once more I turn.
03 Already had white hairs come upon me driving
away my better years and mottling my ageing locks ; ten
203
OVID
95 postque meos ortus Pisaea vinctus oliva
abstulerat deciens praemia victor eques,
cum maris Kuxini positos ad laeva Tomitas
quaerere me laesi principis ira iubet.
causa meae cunctis nimium quoque nota ruinae
100 indicio non est testificanda rneo.
quid referam comitumque nefas famulosque nocentes?
ipsa1 multa tuli non leviora fuga.
indignata malis mens est succumbere seque
praestitit invictam viribus usa suis ;
105 oblitusque mei ductaeque per otia vitae
insolita cepi temporis arma manu ;
totque tuli terra casus pelagoque quot inter
oceultum stellae conspicuumque polum.
tacta mihi tandem longis erroribus acto
110 iuncta pharetratis Sarmatis ora Getis.
hie ego, finitimis quamvis circumsoner armis,
tristia, quo possum, carmine fata levo.
quod quamvis nemo est, euius referatur ad aures,
sic tamen absumo decipioque diem.
115 ergo quod vivo durisque laboribus obsto,
nee me sollicitae taedia lucis habent,
gratia, Musa, tibi : nam tu solacia praebes,
tu curac requies, tu medieina venis.
tu dux et comes es, tu nos abducis ab Histro,
120 in medioque mihi das Helicone locum ;
tu mihi, quod rarum est, vivo sublime dedisti
nomen, ab exequiis quod dare fama solet.
nee, qui detractat praesentia, Livor iniquo
ullum de nostris dente momordit opus.
1 ipseque
204
TRISTIA, IV. x. 95-124
times since my birth had the victorious rider, gar-
landed with Pisan olive, borne away the prize,1 when
the wrath of an injured prince ordered me to Tomis on
the left of the Euxine sea. The cause of my ruin, but
too well known to all, must not be revealed by evi-
dence of mine. Why tell of the disloyalty of com-
rades, of the petted slaves who injured me ? Much
did I bear not lighter than exile itself. I Yet my soul,
disdaining to give way to misfortune, proved itself
unconquerable, relying on its own powers. For-
getting myself and a life passed in ease I seized with
unaccustomed hand the arms that the time supplied :
on sea and land I bore misfortunes as many as are
the stars that lie between the hidden and the visible
pole. Driven through long wanderings at length
I reached the shore that unites the Sarmatians
with the quiver-bearing Getae. Here, though close
around me I hear the din of arms, I lighten my sad
fate with what song I may ; though there be none
to hear it, yet in this wise do I employ and beguile
the day. So then this living of mine, this stand
against the hardness of my sufferings, this bare will
to view the daylight's woes, I owe, my Muse, to
thee ! For thou dost lend me comfort, thou dost
come as rest, as balm, to my sorrow. Thou art
both guide and comrade : thou leadest me fur from
Hister and grantest me a place in Helicon's midst ;
thou hast given me while yet alive (how rare the
boon !) a lofty name — the name which renown is
wont to give only after death. Nor has jealousy,
that detractor of the present, attacked with malignant
1 Ten Olympiads, here periods of five years each, c/. v. 78
and EJC P. iv. 6. 5. The Olympic games were held in the
district of Pisa in Elis.
205
OVID
125 nam tulerint magnos cum saecula nostra poetas,
non fuit ingenio fama maligna meo,
cumque ego praeponam multos mihi, non minor illis
dicor et in toto plurimus orbe legor.
si quid habent igitur vatum praesagia veri,
130 protinus ut moriar, non ero, terra, tuus,
sive favore tuli, sive hanc ego carmine famam,
iure tibi grates, candide lector, ago.
206
TRISTIA, IV. x. 125-132
tooth any work of mine. For although this age
of ours has brought forth mighty poets, fame has not
been grudging to my genius, and though I place
many before myself, report calls me not their inferior
and throughout the world I am most read of all. If
then there be truth in poets' prophecies, even though
I die forthwith, I shall not, O earth, be thine. But
whether through favour or by very poetry I have
gained this fame, 'tis right, kind reader, that I
render thanks to thee.
207
LIBER QUINTUS
I.
Hunc quoque de Gctico, nostri studiose, libellum
litore praemissis quattuor adde meis.
hie quoque tails erit, qualis fortuna poetae :
invenies toto carmine dulce nihil.
6 flebilis ut noster status est, ita flebile carmen,
materiae scripto conveniente suae.
integer et laetus l laeta et iuvenalia hisi :
ilia tamen nunc me composuisse piget.
ut cecidi, subiti perago praecoiiia casus,
10 sumque argument! conditor ipse mei.
utque iacens ripa deflere Caystrius ales
dicitur ore suam deficiente necem,
sic ego, Sarmaticas longe proiectus in oras,
efficio taciturn ne mihi funus eat.
15 delicias siquis lascivaque carmina quaerit,
praemoneo, non est 2 scripta quod i^ta legat.
aptior huic Callus blandique Propertius oris,
aptior, ingenium come, Tibullus erit.
atque utinam numero non nos 3 essemus in isto !
20 ei mihi, cur umquam Musa iocata4 mea est ?
1 donee eram laetus
2 nostra vel numquam : non est Oronovius
3 ne nos * loruta : iocata S~
208
BOOK V
I. A PROEM AND AN APOLOGY
Add this book also to the four I have already sent,
my devoted friend, from the Getic shore. This too
will be like the poet's fortunes : in the whole course
of the song you will find no gladness. Mournful
is my state, mournful therefore is my song, for the
work is suited to its theme. Unhurt and happy
with themes of happiness and youth I played (yet
now I regret that I composed that verse) ; since I
have fallen I act as herald of my sudden fall, and I
myself provide the theme of which I write. As the
bird of Cayster l is said to lie upon the bank and
bemoan its own death with weakening note, so I,
cast far away upon the Sarmatian shores, take heed
that my funeral rites pass not off in silence.
15 If any seeks the amusement of wanton verse, I
forewarn him, there is no warrant for reading such
verse as this. Gallus will be better suited for such
a one, or Propertius of the alluring lips, better that
winning genius Tibullus. And would I were not
counted among them ! Alas ! why did my Muse
1 The swans of the Lydian Cayster were believed to sing
their own dirges.
P 209
OVID
sed dedimus poenas, Scythicique in finibus Histri
ille pharetrati lusor Amoris abcst.
quod superest, animos l ad publica carmina flexi,
et memores iussi nominis esse mei.2
25 si tamen e vobis aliquis tarn multa requiret,
unde dolenda canam, multa dolenda tuli.
non haec ingenio, non haec componimus arte :
materia est propriis ingeniosa malis.
et quota fortunae pars est in carmine nostrae ?
30 felix, qui patitur quae numcrare potest !
quot frutices silvae, quot flavas Thybris harenas,
mollia quot Martis gramina campus habet,
tot mala pertulimus, quorum medicina quiesque
nulla nisi in studio est Pieridumque mora.
35 " quis tibi, Naso, modus lacrimosi carminis ? " inquis
idem, fortunae qui modus huius erit.
quod querar, ilia mihi pleno de fonte ministrat,
nee mea sunt, fati verba sed ista mei.
at mihi si cara patriam cum coniuge reddas,
40 sint vultus hilares, simque quod ante fui.
lenior invicti si sit mihi Caesaris ira,
carmina laetitiae iam tibi plena dabo.
nee tamen ut lusit, rursus mea littera ludet :
sit semel ilia ioco luxuriata meo.
45 quod probet ipse, canam, poenae modo parte levata
barbariam rigidos eflfugiamque Getas.
interea nostri quid agant, nisi triste, libelli ?
tibia funeribus convenit ista meis.
1 socios : numeros Ehwald * sui
210
TRISTIA, V. i. 21-48
ever jest ? But I have paid the penalty, for in
the lands of the Scythian Hister he who played
with quiver-bearing Love is an exile. And besides I
have turned men's minds to public song and bidden
them remember my name. Yet if someone of you
asks why I sing so many grievous things — many
grievous things have I borne. This verse I compose
not by inspiration, not by art ; the theme is filled
with inspiration by its own evils. And how small a
portion of my lot appears in my verse ? Happy he
who can count his sufferings ! As many as the twigs
of the forest, as many as the grains of Tiber's yellow
sands, as many tender grass-blades as the field of
Mars possesses, so many ills have I endured for which
there is no cure, no relief save in whiling away my
time in devotion to the Pierians.
35 " What limit, Naso, to your mournful song ? "
you say. The same that shall be the limit to this state
of mine. For my complaining that state serves me
from a full spring, nor are these words mine ; they
belong to my fate. But should you restore to me
my country and my dear wife, my face would be gay,
and I should be what I once was. Should uncon-
querable Caesar's wrath be milder to me, forth wit h
will I offer you verse filled with joy. Yet no writings
of mine shall again wanton as once they wantoned ;
let them have rioted with my jests but once ! I will
compose something which he will himself approve,
if only a part of my punishment be removed and I
escape the barbarian world and the stern Getae.
Meanwhile what should be the theme of my verse
except sorrow ? Such is the pipe whose notes befit
this funeral of mine.
211
OVID
" at poteras " inquis " melius mala ferre silendo,
60 et tacitus casus dissimulare tuos."
exigis ut nulli gemitus tormenta sequantur,
acceptoque gravi vulnere flere vetas ?
ipse Perilleo Phalaris permisit in acre
edere mugitus et bovis ore queri.
65 cum Priami lacrimis ofFensus non sit Achilles,
tu fletus inhibes, durior hoste, meos ?
cum faceret Nioben orbam Latonia proles,
non tamen et1 siccas iussit habere genas.
est aliquid, fatale malum per verba levare :
60 hoc querulam Procnen Halcyonenque facit.
hoc erat, in gelido quare Poeantius antro
voce fatigaret Lemnia saxa sua.
strangulat inclusus dolor atque exaestuat 2 intus,
cogitur et vires multiplicare suas.
65 da veniam potius, vel totos tolle libellos,
si mihi quod prodest hoc 3 tibi, lector, obest.
sed neque obesse potest, ulli nee script a fuerunt
nostra nisi auctori perniciosa suo.
" at mala sunt." fateor. quis te mala sumere cogit ?
70 aut quis deceptum ponere sumpta vetat ?
ipse nee emendo,4 sed ut hie deducta legantur ;
non sunt ilia suo barbariora loco,
nee me Roma suis debet conferre poetis :
inter Sauromatas ingeniosus eram.
76 denique nulla mihi captatur gloria, quaeque
ingeniis 6 stimulos subdere fama solet.
1 et] hanc 2 cor aestuat
8 sit (sic) ... si 4 hoc mando
6 ingenii vel ingenio
1 When Priam begged for the body of Hector.
212
TRISTIA, V. i. 49-76
49 " But," you say, " you might better endure your
sorrows by keeping silent, and in silence hide your
misfortunes." Do you demand that no groans should
ensue upon torture, and when a deep wound has been
received, do you forbid weeping ? Even Phalaris
allowed Perillus within the bronze to utter bellows
of torture through the mouth of the bull. When
Priam's tears did not offend Achilles,1 do you, more
cruel than an enemy, restrain me from weeping ?
Though Latona's children made Niobe childless, yet
they did not bid her cheeks be dry. Tis something
to lighten with words a fated evil ; to this are due
the complaints of Procne and Haley one. This was
why the son 2 of Poeas in his chill cave wearied with
his outcries the Lemnian rocks. A suppressed
sorrow chokes and seethes within, multiplying per-
force its own strength.
65 Indulge me rather, or else away with all my books,
if that, reader, which helps me harms you. Yet it cannot
harm you, for none has suffered hurt from my writings
save their own author. " But," you say, " they are
poor stuff." I admit it. Who forces you to take up
such poor stuff, or who forbids you, when you find
yourself deceived, to lay it aside ? Even I do not
revise them, but as they have here been written, so
let them be read ; 3 they are not more barbarous
than the place of their origin. Rome ought not to
compare me with her own poets ; 'tis among the
Sauromatae that I am a genius !
75 In fine I court no renown nor that fame which
usually sets the spur to talent ; I would not have
2 Philoctetes.
8 Perhaps ipse nee emenda, sed, etc., u Do you (the
addressee) not revise them," etc.
213
OVID
nolumus assiduis animum tabescere curis,
quae tamen inrumpunt quoque vetantur eunt.
cur scribam, docui. cur mitt am, quaeritis, isto l ?
80 vobiscum cupio quolibet esse modo.
II.
Ecquid ubi e Ponto nova venit epistula, palles,
et tibi sollicita solvitur ilia manu ?
pone metum, valeo ; corpusque, quod ante laborum
inpatiens nobis invalidumque fuit,
5 sufficit, atque ipso vexatum induruit usu.
an magis infirmo non vacat esse mihi ?
mens tamen aegra iacet, nee tempore robora sumpsit,
affectusque animi, qui fuit ante, manet.
quaeque mora spatioque suo coitura putavi
10 vulnera non aliter quam modo facta dolent.
scilicet exiguis prodest annosa vetustas ;
grandibus accedunt tempore damna mails,
paene decem totis aluit Poeantius annis
pestiferum tumido vulnus ab angue datum.
15 Telephus aeterna consumptus tabe perisset,
si non, quae nocuit, dextra tulisset opem.
et mea, si facinus nullum commisirnus, opto,
vulnera qui fecit, facta levare velit,
contentusque mei iam tandem parte doloris
20 exiguum pleno de mare demat aquae,
detrahat ut multum, multum restabit acerbi,2
parsque meae poenae totius instar erit.
litora quot conchas, quot amoena rosaria3 flores,
quotve soporiferum grana papaver habet,
1 istos : isto Heinsius 2 acervi
3 amoenos hostia vel a. postia
1 Philoctetes.
214
TRISTIA, V. i. 77—11. 24
my soul waste away with continual woes, which
nevertheless break in upon me, entering where they
are forbidden. Why I write I have told you. Why
do I send my writings to you, you ask. I am eager
to be with you all in some fashion — no matter how.
II. To His WIFE
What ? When a fresh letter has come from Pontus,
do you grow pale, do you open it with anxious
hand ? Put aside your fear : I am well, and my
frame, which before could endure no toils and had
no strength, now bears up and under the very
harassings of experience has become hardened
or is it rather that I have no leisure to be weak ?
But my mind lies ill, nor has time given it strength ;
my feelings remain the same as of old. The wounds
that I thought would close with passing time pain
me no otherwise than if they had been freshly made.
Yes, little troubles are helped by the flight of years ;
with great ones time but increases the ruin they
cause. For almost ten whole years the son l of
Poeas nursed the baneful wound given him by the
venom-swollen snake. Telephus would have died,
destroyed by his eternal disease, had not the hand
that harmed him borne him aid. My wounds also,
if I have committed no crime, may their maker, I
pray, desire to heal, and now at length satisfied with
<a portion of my suffering, may he draw off a little of
the water from a brimming sea. Though he draw
much, much bitterness will remain, and a part of my
penalty will be as good as the whole. As many as
are the shells on the shore, the flowers in the lovely
rose gardens, the seeds of the sleep-producing poppy,
215
OVID
25 silva feras quot alit, quot piscibus unda natatur,
quot tenerum pennis aera pulsat avis,
tot premor adversis : quae si comprendere coner,
Icariae numerum dicere coner aquae,
utque viae casus, ut amara pericula ponti,
30 ut taceam strictas in mea fata manus,
barbara me tellus orbisque novissima magni
sustinet et saevo cinctus ab hoste locus,
hinc ego traicerer * — neque enim mea culpa cruenta
est —
esset, quae debet, si tibi cura mei.
35 ille deus, bene quo Romana potentia nixa est,
saepe suo victor lenis in hoste fuit.
quid dubitas et tuta times ? accede rogaque :
Caesare nil ingens mitius orbis habet.
me miserum ! quid agam, si proxima quaeque re-
linquunt ?
40 subtrahis effracto tu quoque colla iugo ?
quo ferar ? unde petam lassis solacia rebus ?
ancora iam nostram non tenet ulla ratem.
videris 2 ! ipse sacram, quarnvis invisus, ad aram
confugiam : nullas summovet ara manus.
Precatio
45 Adloquor en absens absentia numina supplex,
si fas est homini cum love posse loqui.
arbiter imperii, quo certum est sospite cunctos
Ausoniae curam gentis habere deos,
0 decus, o patriae per te florentis imago,
50 o vir non ipso, quern regis, orbe minor —
1 traicerem vel transigerer * viderit codd. : corr. Ehwald
216
TRISTIA, V. n. 25-50
as many beasts as the forest supports, as many as
the fishes that swim in the sea, or the feathers with
which a bird beats the yielding air — by so many
sorrows am I overwhelmed. Should I essay to
include them all, as well essay to tell the tale of the
Icarian waters. The dangers of the road, the bitter
perils of the sea, the hands raised to slay me — to say
naught of these, a barbarian land the most remote
in the vast world, a place girt by cruel enemies,
holds me. From here might I pass — for my fault
has no taint of blood — if you had the love for me
which is my due. That god, on whom the power of
Rome hath found happy stay, to his own enemy hath
often been a gentle victor. Why hesitate and fear
what has no peril ? Approach, entreat him ! the
vast world holds naught more lenient than Caesar.
Wretched me ! What am I to do if all that is nearest
abandons me ? Do you too break the yoke and with-
draw your neck ? WThither shall I rush ? Whence
seek comfort for my weary lot ? No anchor now
holds my bark. You shall see ! Even I, hated
though I am, will seek refuge at the holy altar ;
no hands does the altar repel.
The Suppliant's Prayer
Lo ! I an absent suppliant address an absent
deity, if 'tis right for a human being to have power
of converse with Jupiter.
47 Lord of the empire, whose safety assures the pro-
tection of all the gods for the Ausonian race, thou
glory, thou image of a fatherland that hath success
through thee, hero not less mighty than the very
217
OVID
sic habites terras et te desideret aether,
sic ad pacta tibi sidera tardus eas —
parce, precor, minimamque tuo de fulmine partem
deme ! satis poenae, quod superabit, erit.
55 ira quidem moderata tua est, vitamque dedisti,
nee mihi ius civis nee mihi nomen abest,
nee mea concessa est aliis fortuna, nee exul
edieti verbis nominor ipse tui.
omniaque haec timui, quia me meruisse videbam1;
tiO sed tua peccato lenior ira meo est.
arva relegatum iussisti visere Ponti,
et Scythicum profuga scindere puppe fretum.
iussus ad Euxini deformia litora veni
aequoris — haec gelido terra sub axe iacet —
65 nee me tarn cruciat numquam sine frigore caelum,
glaebaque canenti semper obusta gelu,
nesciaque 2 est vocis quod barbara lingua Latinae,
Graecaque quod Getico victa3 loquella sono est,
quam quod finitimo cinctus premor undique Marte,4
70 vixque brevis tutum5 murus ab hoste facit.
pax tamen interdum est, pacis fiducia numquam :
sic hie nunc patitur, nunc timet arma locus,
hinc ego dum muter, vel me Zanclaea Charybdis
devoret atque suis ad Styga mittat aquis,
75 vel rapidae flammis urar patienter in Aetnae,
vel freta Leucadii mittar in alta dei.6
quod petimus, poena est : neque enim miser esse
recuso,
sed precor ut possim tutius esse miser.
1 quoniam . . . videbar 2 -que] quam
8 vincta vel iuncta 4 finitima . . morte
6 tutos 6 leucadio . . deo
1 See Introd, p. xviii.
218
TRISTIA, V. n. 51-78
world thou rulest (so mayst thou dwell on earth and
heaven long for thee, so mayst thou be late in passing
to thy promised stars) spare me, I beseech thee, and
take but the least part from thy lightning's stroke ;
sufficient will be the penalty that remains. Thine
anger is indeed moderate, for thou hast granted me
life, I lack neither the right nor the name of citizen,
nor has my fortune been granted to others, and I am
not called " exile " by the terms of thy decree. All
these things I feared because I saw that I had
deserved them, but thy wrath is lighter than my sin.
" Relegated " l didst thou bid me come to view the
fields by the Pontus, cleaving the Scythian sea in a
fleeing bark. By thy command I have come to the
formless shores of the Euxine water — this land lies
beneath the frigid pole — nor am I so much tortured by
a climate never free from cold and a soil ever shrivelled
by white frost, by the fact that the barbarian tongue
knows not a Latin voice and Greek is mastered by
the sound of Getic, as that I am surrounded and hard
pressed on every side by war close at hand and that
a low wall scarce gives me safety from the foe. Yet
peace there is at times, confidence in peace never :
so does this place now suffer, now fear attack. If I
may but exchange this place for another, let even
Zanclaean Charybdis swallow me, sending me by her
waters to the Styx, or let me be resigned to burn in
the flames of scorching Aetna or hurled into the deep
sea of the Leucadian god.2 What I seek is punish-
ment, for I do not reject suffering, but I beg that
I may suffer in greater safety !
8 Malefactors were hurled from the cliff near Apollo's
temple on the Leucadian promontory.
219
OVID
III.
Ilia dies haec est, qua te celebrare poetae,
si modo non fallunt tempora, Bacche, solent,
festaque odoratis innectunt tempora sertis,
et dicunt laudes ad tua vina tuas.
6 inter quos, memini, dum me mea fata sinebant,
non invisa tibi pars ego saepe fui,
quern nunc suppositum stellis Cynosuridos Ursae
iuncta tenet crudis Sarmatis ora Getis.
quique prius mollem vacuamque laboribus egi
10 in studiis vitam Pieridumque choro,
nunc procul a patria Geticis circumsonor armis.
multa prius pelago multaque passus humo.
sive mini casus sive hoc dedit ira deorum,
nubila nascenti seu mihi Parca fuit,
15 tu tamen e sacris hederae l cultoribus unum
numine debueras sustinuisse tuo.
an dominae fati quicquid cecinere sorores,
omne sub arbitrio desinit esse dei ?
ipse quoque aetherias meritis invectus es arces,
20 quo non exiguo facta labor e via est.
nee patria est habitata tibi, sed adusque nivosum
Strymona venisti Marticolamque Geten,
Persidaque et lato spatiantem flumine Gangen,
et quascumque bibit decolor Indus aquas.
25 scilicet hanc legem nentes fatalia Parcae
stamina bis genito bis cecinere tibi.
me quoque, si fas est exemplis ire deorum,
ferrea sors vitae difficilisque premit.
1 hederae] me de
1 The Small Bear.
220
TRISTIA, V. in. 1-28
III. AN APPEAL TO BACCHUS
This is the day, if only I do not mistake the time,
on which poets are wont to praise thee, Bacchus,
binding their brows with sweet-scented garlands, and
singing thy praises over thine own wine. Among
them, I remember, whilst my fate allowed, oft did I
play a part not distasteful to thee, but now I lie
beneath the stars of the Cynosurian Bear,1 in the
grip of the Sarmatian shore, close to the uncivilized
Getae. I who before led a life of ease, toil-free, amid
studies in the band of the Pierians, now far from my
country am surrounded by the clash of Getic arms,
after many sufferings on the sea, many on land.
Whether chance brought this upon me or the wrath
of the gods, or whether a clouded Fate attended my
birth, thou at least shouldst have supported by thy
divine power one of the worshippers of thine ivy.
Or is it true that whatever the sisters, mistresses of
fate, have ordained, ceases wholly to be under a god's
power ? Thou thyself wast borne by thy merit to
the citadel of heaven, and the path thither was made
by no slight toil. Thou didst not dwell in thy native
country, but all the way to snowy Strymon thou hast
gone and the Mars-worshipping Getae, Persia, and
the broad-flowing Ganges, and all the waters that
the swarthy Indian drinks. Such doubtless was the
law twice ordained for thee by the Parcae who spun
the fated threads at thy double birth.2 I too (if
'tis right to make comparison with the gods) am
crushed by an iron and a difficult lot. I have fallen
8 Bacchus was born prematurely by Semele, and a second
time after proper nourishment in the thigh of Jupiter.
221
OVID
illo nee levius cecidi, quern magna locutum
30 reppulit a Thebis luppiter igne suo.
ut tamen audisti percussum fulmine vatem,
admonitu matris condoluisse potes,
et potes aspiciens circum tua sacra poetas
" nescioquis nostri " dicere " cultor abest."
35 fer, bone Liber, opem : sic altera l degravet ulmum
vitis et incluso plena sit uva mero,
sic tibi cum Bacchis Satyrorum gnava iuventus
adsit, et attonito non taceare sono,
ossa bipenniferi sic sint male pressa Lycurgi,
40 impia nee poena Pentheos umbra vacet,2
sic micet aeternum vicinaque sidera vincat
coniugis in caelo clara corona tuae :
hue ades et casus releves, pulcherrime, nostros,
unum de numero me memor esse tuo.
45 sunt dis inter se commercia. flectere tempta
Caesareum numen numine, Bacche, tuo.
vos quoque, consortes studii, pia turba, poetae,
haec eadem sumpto quisque rogate mero.
atque aliquis vestrum, Nasonis nomine dicto,
50 opponat 3 lacrimis pocula mixta suis,
admonitusque mei, cum circumspexerit omnes,
dicat " ubi est nostri pars modo Naso chori ? "
idque ita, si vestrum merui candore favorem,
nullaque iudicio littera laesa rneo est,
65 si, veterum digne veneror cum scripta virorum,
proxima non illis esse minora reor.
sic igitur dextro faciatis Apolline carmen :
quod licet, inter vos nonien habete meum.
1 altam 2 vacet] caret 8 apponat
1 Capaneus. 2 i.e. two vines instead of one.
8 Ariadne.
222
TRISTIA, V. in. 29-58
no more lightly than he l whom Jupiter, for his
overweening utterance, drove back from Thebes
with his lightning. Yet when thou didst hear that
a poet had been smitten by the bolt, remembering
thy mother, thou mightest have felt sympathy and
gazing upon the bards about thine altar thou mightest
have said, " Some worshipper of mine is missing."
35 Bring aid to me, kind Liber ! So may a second 2
vine weigh down the elm and the grape-clusters be
filled with prisoned wine, so may the Bacchae and
the young vigour of the Satyrs attend thee and may
their frenzied cries keep not silent thy name ; so
may the bones of axe-bearing Lycurgus be heavily
weighed down, nor may the wicked shade of Pentheus
ever be free of punishment, so may the crowrn of thy
spouse 3 bright in the sky glitter for ever, surpassing
the stars close at hand — hither come and lighten my
misfortunes, fairest of gods, remembering that I am
one of thine own. Gods deal with gods ; do thou,
O Bacchus, seek to sway Caesar's power divine by
thine own. Do ye, too, O poets who share in my
pursuit, loyal throng, take each of you unmixed wine
and make this same petition. And let someone of
you, uttering Naso's name, pledge him in a bowl
mingled with his own tears, and in thought of me,
when he has gazed around upon all, let him say,
" Where is Naso, who was but now a part of our
company ? " — and this only if I have earned your
approval by my sincerity, if no book was ever injured
by verdict of mine, if in deserved reverence for the
writings of men of old I yet consider not inferior
those most recent. As then I pray ye may com-
pose under Apollo's favour : keep — for this is lawful
— my name among you.
223
OVID
IV.
Litore ab Euxino Nasonis epistula veni,
lassaque faota mari lassaque facta via,
qui mihi flens dixit " tu, cui licet, aspice Romam.
heu quanto melior sors tua sorte mea est ! "
5 flens quoque me scripsit, nee qua signabar, ad os est
ante, sed ad madidas gemma relata genas.
tristitiae causam siquis cognoscere quaerit,
ostendi solem postulat ille sibi,
nee frondem in silvis, nee aperto mollia prato
10 gramma, nee pleno fmniine cernit aquam 1 ;
quid Priamus doleat, mirabitur, Heetore rapto,
quidve Philoctctes ictus ab angue gemat.
di facerent utinam talis status esset in illo,
ut non tristitiae causa dolenda foret !
15 fert tamen, ut debet, casus patienter amaros,
more nee indomiti frena recusat equi.
nee fore perpetuam sperat sibi numinis iram,
conscius in culpa non scelus esse sua.
saepe refert, sit quanta dei dementia, cuius
20 se quoque in exemplis adnumerare solet :
nam, quod opes teneat patrias, quod nomina eivis,
denique quod vivat, munus habere dei.
te tamen (o, si quid credis mihi, carior illi
omnibus) in toto peetore semper habet ;
25 teque Menoetiaden, te, qui comitatus Oresten,
te vocat Aegiden Euryalumque suum.
nee patriam magis ille suam desiderat et quae
plurima cum patria sentit abesse sibi,
quam vultus oculosque tuos, o dulcior illo
30 melle, quod in ceris Attica ponit apis.
1 Ovid. 2 Palroclus. 8 Pylades. 4 Theseus.
TRISTTA, V. iv. 1-30
IV. THE POET'S LETTER GREETS A TRUE FRIEND
From the Euxine shore have I come, a letter of
Naso's, wearied by the sea, wearied by the road.
Weeping he said to me, " Do thou, who art allowed,
look on Rome. Alas ! how much better is thy lot
than mine ! " Weeping too he wrote me, and the
gem with which I was sealed, he lifted first, not to
his lips, but to his tear-drenched cheeks.
7 Whoever seeks to learn the cause of his sorrow is
asking that the sun be shown to him ; he sees not
the leaves in the wood, the soft grass in the open
meadow, or the water in the full stream ; he will
wonder why Priam grieves at the ravishing of Hector,
why Philoctetes groans after the snake has struck.
Would that the gods might bring to pass such lot
for him ! that he had no cause of sorrow to lament !
Yet spite of all he bears, as he ought, with patience
his bitter misfortunes, nor, like an unbroken horse,
does he refuse the bit. He hopes that not forever
will the god's wrath endure, aware that in his fault
there is no crime. Often he recalls how great is the
god's mercy, of wrhich he is wont to count himself
also as an example ; for that he retains his father's
wealth, the name of citizen — in fine his very life he
holds as a gift of the god.
23 But thee — O, if thou belie vest me in anything,
dearer than all to him — thee he holds constantly in his
whole heart. Thee he calls his Menoetiades,2 thee
his Orestes' comrade,3 thee his Aegides,4 or his
Euryalus. He longs not more for his country and the
many things with his country whose absence he feels,
than for thy face and eyes, O thou who art sweeter
than the honey stored in the wax by the Attic bee.
OVID
saepe etiam maerens tempus reminiscitur illud,
quod non praeventum morte fuisse dolet ;
cumque alii fugerent subitae contagia cladis,
nee vellent ictae limen adire domus,
35 te sibi cum paucis meminit mansisse fidelem,
si paucos aliquis tresve duosve vocat.
quamvis attonitus, sensit tamen omnia, nee te
se minus adversis indoluisse suis.
verba solet vultumque tuum gemitusque referre,
40 et te flente suos emaduisse sinus :
quam sibi praestiteris, qua consolatus amicum
sis ope, solandus cum simul ipse fores,
pro quibus affirmat fore se memoremque piumque,
sive diem videat sive tegatur humo,
45 per caput ipse suum solitus iurare tuumque,
quod scio non illi vilius esse suo.
plena tot ac tantis referetur gratia factis,
nee sinet ille tuos litus arare boves.
fac modo, constanter profugum tueare : quod ille,
60 qui bene te novit, non rogat, ipsa rogo.
V.
Annuus adsuetum dominae natalis honorem
exigit : ite manus ad pia sacra meae.
sic quondam festum Laertius egerat heros
forsan in extremo coniugis orbe diem.
6 lingua favens adsit, nostrorum oblita malorum,
quae, puto, dedidicit iam bona verba loqui ;
quaeque semel toto vestis mihi sumitur anno,
sumatur fatis discolor alba meis ;
1 Ulysses.
226
TRISTIA, V. iv. 31— v. 8
Often too in his grief he remembers that time, which
to his sorrow was not anticipated by death, when
others were fleeing the pollution of sudden disaster,
unwilling to approach the threshold of the stricken
house, thou with a few others didst remain faithful —
if anybody terms three or two " a few." Though
sore smitten, yet he realized everything — that thou
not less than himself didst grieve over his misfortunes.
Thy words, thy face, thy laments he is wont to recall,
and his own bosom wet with thy tears ; how thou
didst support him, with what resource thou didst
comfort him, although thou wert thyself at the same
time in need of comfort.
43 For this he assures thee that he will be mindful
and loyal, whether he behold the light of day or be
covered by earth, swearing it by his own life and by
thine which I know he counts not cheaper than his
own. Full recompense for these many great acts
shall be rendered ; he will not suffer thine oxen to
plough the shore. Only see thou dost constantly
protect the exile ! What he, who knows thee well,
asketh not, that I ask.
V. MY LADY'S BIRTHDAY
The year has flown and the birthday of my lady
exacts its customary honour ; go, hands of mine,
perform affection 's rites. Thus of old did the
Laertian hero 1 pass, perhaps at the world's edge,
his wife's gala day. Let me have a tongue of good
omen forgetful of my misfortunes (my tongue has,
I think, unlearned ere now its utterance of propitious
words !) and the garb that I put on only once in the
whole year let me now put on — the white garb that
227
OVID
araque gramineo viridis de caespite fiat,
10 et velet tepidos nexa corona focos.
da mihi tura, puer, pingues facientia flammas,
quodque pio fusum stridat in igne merum.
optime natalis ! quamvis procul absumus, opto
candidus hue venias dissimilisque meo,
15 si quod et instabat dominae miserabile vulnus,
sit perfuncta meis tempus in omne malis ;
quaeque gravi nuper plus quam quassata procella est,
quod superest, tutum per mare navis eat.
ilia domo nataque sua patriaque fruatur
20 — erepta haec uni sit satis esse mihi —
quatenus et non est in caro coniuge felix,
pars vitae tristi cetera nube vacet.
vivat, ametque virum, quoniam sic cogitur, absens,
consumatque annos, sed diuturna, suos.
25 adicerem et nostros, sed ne contagia fati
corrumpant timeo, quos agit ipsa, mei.
nil homini certum est. fieri quis posse putaret,
ut facerem in mediis haec ego sacra Getis ?
aspice ut aura tamen fumos e ture coortos
30 in partes Italas et loea dextra ferat.
sensus inest igitur nebulis, quas exigit ignis :
consilio fugiunt aethera, Ponte,1 tuum.
consilio, commune sacrum cum fiat in ara
fratribus, alterna qui periere manu,
35 ipsa sibi discors, tarnquam mandetur ab illis,
scinditur in partes atra favilla duas.
hoc, memini, quondam fieri non posse loquebar,
et me Battiades iudice falsus erat :
1 con&iliuni . . . cetera pene corr. Withof
1 Perilla. * Eteocles and Pol yn ices.
228
TRISTIA, V. v. 9-38
matches not my fate. Let there be made a green
altar of grassy turf, the warm hearth veiled with a
braided garland. Give me incense, boy, that pro-
duces rich flame, and wine that hisses when poured
in the pious fire.
13 Best of birthdays ! though 1 am far away, I pray
thou mayst come hither bright and unlike my own.
If any wretched wound is threatening my lady may
she have done with it forever by means of my mis-
fortunes, and may the bark which but recently was
more than shaken by a violent blast pass in future
over an untroubled sea. May she continue to enjoy
her home, her daughter,1 and her native land (let it
suffice that these things have been taken from me
alone), and in as much as she is not blessed in the
person of her dear husband, may all the other part
of her life be free from gloomy cloud. Long life to
her ! and may she in absence, since to this she is
forced, love her husband, and pass — but late ! — to
the end of her years. I would add my own too, but
I fear the pollution of my fate would infect those
which she herself is living.
27 Naught is certain for man. Who would have
thought it possible that I should be performing these
rites amidst the Getae ? Yet look how the breeze
wafts the smoke that rises from the incense in the
direction of Italy and places of good omen. Sen-
tience, then, resides in the vapour thrown off by
the fire ; designedly it flees thy sky, O Pontus. De-
signedly, when the common offering is made on the
altar to the brothers who died by each other's hands,2
the very ashes, in dissension as if at their command,
separate blackly into two parts. This, I remember,
I once said could not be, and in my opinion Battus'
229
OVID
omnia nunc credo, cum tu non stultus ab Arcto
40 terga, vapor, dederis Ausoniamque petas.
haec ergo lux est, quae si non orta fuisset,
nulla fuit misero festa videnda mihi.
edidit haec mores illis heroism 1 aequos,
quis erat Eetion Icariusque pater.
45 nata pudicitia est, virtus 2 probitasque, fidesque,
at non sunt ista gaudia nata die,3
sed labor et curae fortunaque moribus impar,
iustaque de viduo paene querella toro.
scilicet adversis probitas exercita rebus
50 tristi materiam tempore laudis habet.
si nihil infesti durus vidisset Ulixes,
Penelope felix sed sine laude foret.
victor Echionias si vir penetrasset in arces,
forsitan Euadnen vix sua nosset humus.
65 cum Pelia genitae tot sint, cur nobilis una est ?
nempe fuit misero nupta quod una viro.
effice ut Iliacas tangat prior alter harenas,
Laudamia nihil cur referatur erit.
et tua, quod malles,4 pietas ignota maneret,
60 implerent venti si mea vela sui.
di tamen et Caesar dis accessure, sed olim,
aequarint Pylios cum tua fata dies,
non mihi, qui poenam fateor meruisse, sed illi
parcite, quae nullo digna dolore dolet.
1 heroibus corr. Salmasiw a moris : virtus Owen
8 die] fide * mallem
1 Callimachus, who must h^ve touched somewhere upon
this myth.
1 Andromache and Penelope.
230
TRISTIA, V. v. 39-64
son * was mistaken. Now I believe all, since thou, O
vapour, hast in wisdom turned from Arctos and
seekest Ausonia.
41 This then is the dawn in defect of whose rising
there would have been no gala day to be seen by
wretched me. This brought forth a character equal-
ling those famed heroines 2 whose fathers were
Eetion and Icarus. Chastity was born on this day
of thine, virtue and uprightness, and loyalty ; but no
joys — rather woe and cares and a fortune unfitted to
thy character, and a plaint all but just about thy
widowed couch. Assuredly uprightness schooled by
adversity in time of sorrow affords a theme for praise.
Had sturdy Ulysses seen no misfortune, Penelope
would have been happy but unpraised. Had her
husband 8 pressed victoriously into the citadel 4 of
Echion, perchance Euadne would scarce have been
known to her own land. Though Pelias had so many
daughters, why is one 5 only famed ? Doubtless
because she alone wedded an ill-starred husband.6
Let but another be first to touch the sands of Ilium
and there will be no reason why Laodamia should
be remembered. Thy loyalty, too, as thou wouldst
prefer, would remain unknown, if favouring winds
filled my sails. Yet, O gods and Caesar destined to
be one of the gods — but at that time when thy life
shall have equalled the days of the Pylian 7 — spare,
not me, who confess that I have deserved a punish-
ment, but her who grieves albeit she deserves not
grief.
8 Capaneus, * Thebes. * Alcestis.
6 Admetus. 7 Nestor,
231
OVID
VI.
Tu quoque, nostrarum quondam fiducia rerum,
qui mihi confugium, qui mihi portus eras,
til quoque suscepti curam dimittis amici,
officiique pium tarn cito ponis onus ?
6 sarcina sum, fateor, quam si non l tempore nostro 2
depositurus eras, non subeunda fuit.
fluctibus in mediis navem, Palinure, relinquis ?
ne fuge, neve tua sit minor arte fides.
numquid Achilleos inter fera proelia fidi
10 deseruit levitas Automedontis equos ?
quern semel excepit, numquam Podalirius aegro
promissam medicae non tulit artis opem.
turpius eicitur, quam non admittitur hospes :
quae patuit, dextrae firma sit ara meae.
15 nil nisi me solum primo tutatus es ; at nunc
me pariter serva iudiciumque tuum,
si modo non aliqua est in me nova culpa, tuamque
mutarunt subito crimina nostra fidem.
spiritus hie, Scythica quern non bene ducimus aura,
20 quod cupio, membris exeat ante meis,
quam tua delicto stringantur pectora nostro,
et videar merito vilior esse tibi.
non adeo toti fatis urguemur iniquis,
ut mea sit longis mens quoque mota malis.
25 finge tamen motam, quotiens Agamemnone natum
dixisse in Pyladen improba verba putas ?
nee procul a vero est quin et 3 pulsarit amicum :
mansit in officiis non minus ille suis.
1 quamvis sine 2 nostro] duro 8 quod non : quin et £"
1 Orestes — in the course of his madness.
232
TRISTIA, V. vi. 1-28
VI. BE FAITHFUL
Do you too, once the stay of my fortunes, my
refuge, my harbour — do you too dismiss your love
for the friend you took unto yourself? Do you so
speedily lay aside the loyal burden of duty ? I am
a burden, I confess, but one which you should not
have taken up if you meant to put it off at a
time unfavourable for me. In the midst of the
waves, Palinurus, do you desert the ship ? Flee not ;
let not your faith be inferior to your skill. Did
Automedon waver in his faith and abandon in the
fierceness of the fight the steeds of Achilles ? When
once he had accepted the charge never did Podalirius
fail to bring to the sick man the promised aid of his
healing art. Tis baser to thrust forth than not to
receive a guest : let the altar, once open, be a steady
support for my right hand.
15 Nothing but myself alone did you at first preserve ;
but now preserve alike me and your own judgment,
if only I have not some new fault and my wrong-
doings have not suddenly altered your loyalty. May
this breath which I draw not easily in the Scythian
air leave my body — this is my desire — before your
heart is wounded by sin of mine and I seem deservedly
cheaper in your sight.
23 Not so utterly overwhelmed am I by unjust fate
that my mind also has been unbalanced by my long
continued woes. Yet suppose it unbalanced — how
many times, think you, Agamemnon's son l uttered
violent words against Pylades ? Nor is it far from
truth that he even struck his friend ; yet that friend
stood fast in his loyalty. This is the only thing in
233
OVID
hoc est cum miseris solum commune beatis,
SO ambobus tribui quod solet obsequlum :
ceditur et caecis et quos praetexta verendos
virgaque cum verbis imperiosa facit.
si mihi non parcis, fortunae parcere debes :
non habet in nobis ullius ira locum.
35 eMge nostrorum minimum minimumque laborum,1
is to, quod reris,2 grandius illud erit.
quam multa madidae celantur harundine fossae,
florida quam multas Hybla tuetur apes,
quam multae gracili terrena sub horrea ferre
40 limite formicae grana reperta solent,
tarn me circumstat s densorum turba malorum.
crede mihi, vero est nostra querella minor,
his qui contentus non est, in litus harenas,
in segetem spicas, in mare fundat aquas*
45 intempestivos igitur compesce tumores,4
vela nee in medio desere nostra mari,
VII.
Quam legis, ex ilia tibi venit epistula terra,
latus ubi aequoreis additur Hister aquis.
si tibi contingit cum dulci vita salute,
Candida fortunae pars manet una meae,
5 scilicet, ut semper, quid agam, carissime, quaeriss
quamvis hoc vel me scire tacente potes.
sum miser; haec brevisest nostrorum summa malorum,
quisquis et offenso Caesare vivit? erit.
1 malorum * illo quo quereris
3 circumdat (circumdant) : circmnstant r
4 timores corr. s~
1 The garb of the official, bordered with a purple stripe.
2 The fasces (axes encased in the bundle of rods as a
TRiSTIA, V. vi. 39— vn. 8
common between the wretched and the fortunate
that regard is wont to be rendered to both. We
make way both for the blind and for those whom the
praetexta * and the imperious rods 2 with their cries
make reverend. If you have no consideration for
me, you ought to show consideration for my fate ;
in my case there is no room for anger. Choose the
very least of my woes ; it will be greater than what
you imagine. As many as are the reeds which hide
the wet ditches, as many as are the bees which
flowery Hybla guards, as many as are the ants that
are wont to carry by tiny paths to underground
stores the grain they find, so crowded is the throng
of woes about me ; believe me, my complaint is
short of the truth. Whoever is not content with
these, let him pour sands upon the shore, grain ears
into the field, or water into the sea. Wherefore
restrain your unseasonable anger and abandon not
my bark in the midst of the sea.
VII. " AMONG THE GOTHS "
The letter which you are reading has come to you
from that land where the broad Hister adds his waters
to the sea. If you are blessed with life and the
sweetness of safety, bright is still one spot in my life.
Doubtless you are asking, as ever, dearest one, how
I fare, though this you can know even if I speak not.
I am wretched — this is the brief sum of my woes —
and so will all be who live subject to Caesar's wrath.
symbol of authority) borne by the lictors who by their cries
(animadvertite, " give heed 1 ") demanded honour for the
magistrates. '
£35
OVID
turba Tomitanae quae sit regionis et inter
10 quos habitem mores, discere cura tibi est ?
mixta sit haec quamvis inter Graecosque Getasque,
a male pacatis plus trahit ora Getis.
Sarmaticae maior Geticaeque frequentia gentis
per medias in equis itque reditque vias.
15 in quibus est nemo, qui non coryton et arcum
telaque vipereo lurida felle gerat.
vox fera, trux vultus, verissima Martis1 imago,
non coma, non ulla barba resecta manu,
dextera non segnis fixo dare vulnera cultro,
20 quern iunctum lateri barbarus omnis habet.
vivit in his heu nunc, lusorum 2 oblitus amorum,
hos videt, hos vates audit, amice, tuus :
atque utinam vivat non et 3 moriatur in illis,
absit ab invisis et tamen umbra locis.
25 carmina quod pleno saltari nostra theatro,
versibus et plaudi scribis, amice, meis,
nil equidem feci — tu scis hoc ipse — theatris,
Musa nee in plausus ambitiosa mea est.
non tamen ingratum est, quodcumque oblivia nostri
30 impedit et profugi nomen in ora refert.
quamvis interdum, quae me laesisse recordor,
carmina devoveo Pieridasque meas,
cum bene devovi, nequeo tamen esse sine illis,
vulneribusque meis tela cruenta sequor,
35 quaeque modo Euboicis lacerata est fluctibus, audet
Graia Capheream currere puppis aquam.4
1 mortis corr. $~
2 nullus eorum vel his nullus tenerorum : nunc lusorum
Ehwald
236
TRISTIA, V. vii. 9-36
9 What the people of the land of Tomis are like,
amid what customs I live, are you interested to
know ? Though upon this coast there is a mixture
of Greeks and Getae, it derives more from the scarce
pacified Getae. Greater hordes of Sarmatae and
Getae go and come upon their horses along the roads.
Among them there is not one who does not bear
quiver and bow, and darts yellow with viper's gall.
Harsh voices, grim countenances, veritable pictures
of Mars, neither hair nor beard trimmed by any
hand, right hands not slow to stab and wound with
the knife which every barbarian wears fastened to
his side. Among such men, alas ! your bard is
living, forgetful of the loves with which he played :
such men he sees, such men he hears, my friend.
Would he might not live, but die among them, and
yet so that his shade might leave this hated place !
25 As for your news that my songs are being pre-
sented with dancing l in a crowded theatre, my friend,
and that my verses are applauded — I have indeed
composed nothing (you yourself know this) for the
theatre ; my Muse is not ambitious for hand-
clappings. Yet I am not ungrateful for anything
which hinders oblivion of me, which brings back the
exile's name to men's lips. Although at times I
curse the poems whose injury to me I recall, and my
Pierians, yet when I have cursed them well I cannot
live without them ; I still seek the weapons that are
bloody from my wounds, and the Grecian bark that
but now was shattered by the Euboean waves dares
to skim the waters of Caphereus. And yet I do not
1 Probably scenes adapted from the Hero ides, etc., to
the purposes of ballet and pantomime.
8 et non corr. Ueinsiux * capharea . . . aqua
237
OVID
nee tamen, ut lauder, vigilo curamque futuri
nominis, utilius quod latuisset, ago.
detineo studiis animum falloque dolores,
40 experior curis et dare verba meis.
quid potius faciam desertis solus in oris,
quamve mails aliam quaerere coner l opem ?
sive locum specto, locus est inamabilis, et quo
esse nihil toto tristius orbe potest,
45 sive homines, vix sunt homines hoc nomine digni,
quamque lupi, saevae plus feritatis habent.
non metuunt leges, sed cedit viribus aequum,
victaque pugnaci iura sub ense iacent.
pellibus et laxis arcent mala frigora bracis,
60 oraque sunt longis horrida tecta comis.
in paucis remanent Graecae vestigia linguae,
haec quoque iam Getico barbara facta sono.
unus in hoc nemo est populo,2 qui forte Latine
quaelibet e medio reddere verba queat.
55 ille ego Romanus vates — ignoscite, Musae ! —
Sarmatico cogor plurima more loqui.
en pudet et fateor, iam desuetudine longa
vix subeunt ipsi verba Latina mihi.
nee dubito quin sint et in hoc non pauca libello
60 barbara : non hominis culpa, sed ista loci,
ne tamen Ausoniae perdam commercia linguae,
et fiat patrio vox mea muta sono,
ipse loquor mecum desuetaque verba retracto,
et studii repeto signa sinistra mei.
65 sic animum tempusque traho, sic meque 3 reduco
a contemplatu summoveoque mali.
carminibus quaero miserarum oblivia rerum :
praemia si studio consequar ista, sat est.
1 coner] cogar 2 nemo . . populo] populo vix est
3 me sicque vel mecumque corr. S"
238
TRISTIA, V. vn. 37-68
work o' nights for praise, toiling for the future life of
a name which had better have lain unnoticed. I
busy my mind with studies beguiling my grief, trying
to cheat my cares. What else am I to do, all alone
on this forsaken shore, what other resources for my
sorrows should I try to seek ? If I look upon the
country, 'tis devoid of charm, nothing in the whole
world can be more cheerless ; if I look upon the men,
they are scarce men worthy the name ; they have
more of cruel savagery than wolves. They fear not
laws ; right gives way to force, and justice lies
conquered beneath the aggressive sword. With
skins and loose breeches they keep off the evils of the
cold ; their shaggy faces are protected with long
locks. A few retain traces of the Greek tongue, but
even this is rendered barbarous by a Getic twang.
There is not a single man among these people who
perchance might express in Latin any common words
whatsoever. I, the Roman bard — pardon, ye Muses !
— am forced to utter most things in Sarmatian
fashion. Lo ! I am ashamed to confess it ; now
from long disuse Latin words with difficulty occur
even to me ! And I doubt not there are even in
this book not a few barbarisms, not the fault of the
man but of the place. Yet for fear of losing the use
of the Ausonian tongue and lest my own voice
grow dumb in its native sound, I talk to myself,
dealing again with disused words and seeking again
the ill-omened currency of my art.
65 Thus do I drag out my life and my time, thus do I
withdraw myself from the contemplation of my woes.
Through song I seek oblivion from my wretchedness.
If such be the rewards I win by my pursuit, 'tis
enough.
239
OVID
VIII.
Non adeo cecidi, quamvis abiectus, ut infra
te quoque sim, inferius quo nihil esse potest.
quae tibi res animos in me facit, improbe ? curve
casibus insultas, quos potes ipse pati ?
6 nee mala te reddunt mitem placidumque iacenti
nostra, quibus possint inlacrimare ferae ;
nee metuis dubio Fortunae stantis in orbe
numen, et exosae verba superba deae.
exigit 1 a dignis 2 ultrix Rhamnusia poenas :
10 inposito calcas quid 3 mea fata pede ?
vidi ego naufragium qui risit 4 in aequora5 mergi,
et " numquam " dixi "iustior unda fuit."
vilia qui quondam miseris alimenta negarat,
nunc mendicato pascitur ipse cibo.
15 passibus ambiguis Fortuna volubilis errat
et manet in nullo certa tenaxque loco,
sed modo laeta venit,6 vultus modo sumit acerbos,
et tantum constans in levitate sua est.
nos quoque floruimus, sed flos erat ille caducus,
20 flammaque de stipula nostra brevisque fuit.
neve tamen tota capias fera gaudia mente,
non est placandi spes mihi nulla dei,
vel quia peccavi citra scelus, utque pudore
non caret, invidia sic mea culpa caret,
25 vel quia nil ingens ad finem solis ab ortu
illo, cui paret, mitius orbis habet.
scilicet ut non est per vim superabilis ulli,
molle cor ad timidas sic habet ille preces,
1 exigis vel exiget 2 at dignes
8 qui * naufragiumqne viros et corr. Mencken
6 aequore ° manet : venit He ins tug
240
TRISTIA, V. viii. 1-28
VIII. To A DETRACTOR
I have not fallen so low, low though I am, that I
am beneath you too, for beneath you there can be
nothing. What stirs your spirit up against me, shame-
less man ? Why do you mock at misfortunes which
you yourself may suffer ? My woes do not soften you
and placate you towards one who is prostrate — woes
over which wild beasts might weep, nor do you fear
the power of Fortune standing on her swaying wheel,
or the haughty commands of the goddess who hates.
Avenging Rhamnusia l exacts a penalty from those
who deserve it ; why do you set your foot and trample
upon my fate ? I have seen one drowned in the
waves who had laughed at shipwreck, and I said,
" Never were the waters more just." The man who
once denied cheap food to the wretched now eats
the bread of beggary. Changeable Fortune wanders
abroad with aimless steps, abiding firm and per-
sistent in no place ; now she comes in joy, now she
takes on a harsh mien, steadfast only in her own
fickleness. I too had my day, but that day was fleet-
ing ; my fire was but of straw and short-lived. Never-
theless that you may not fill all your soul with cruel
joy, not wholly gone is my hope of appeasing the god,
because my mistake fell short of crime, and though
my fault is not free from shame, yet 'tis free from
odium, or because the wide world from the rising sun
to its setting holds nothing more merciful than him
whom it obeys. Indeed though no force can over-
come him, yet he has a tender heart for the petitions
1 Nemesis, one of whose shrines was at Rhamnus in Attica.
She detested and punished overweening words and acts.
R 241
OVID
exemploque deum, quibus accessurus et ipse est,
30 cum poenae venia plura roganda l dabit.2
si numeres anno soles et nubila toto,
invenies nitidum saepius esse diem,
ergo ne nimium nostra laetere ruina,
restitui quondam me quoque posse puta :
35 posse puta fieri lenito principe vultus
ut videas media tristis in urbe meos,
utque ego te videam causa graviore fugatum,
haec sunt a primis proxima vota meis.
IX.
O tua si sineres in nostris nomina poni
carminibus, positus quam mihi saepe fores ?
te canerem solum, meriti memor, inque libellis
crevisset sine te pagina nulla meis.
6 quid tibi deberem, tota sciretur in urbe,
exul in amissa si tamen urbe legor.
te praesens mitem nosset, te serior aetas,
scripta vetustatem si modo nostra ferunt,
nee tibi cessaret doctus bene dicere lector :
10 hie te servato vate maneret honor.
Caesaris est primum munus, quod ducimus auras ;
gratia post magnos est tibi habenda deos.
ille dedit vitam ; tu, quam dedit ille, tueris,
et facis accepto munere posse frui.
16 cumque perhorruerit 3 casus pars maxima nostros,
pars etiam credi pertimuisse velit,
1 regenda * petam : dabit Faber 8 perhorreret
242
TRISTIA, V. VIIT. 29— ix. 16
of the timid, and after the example of the gods
whom he himself is destined to join, with the remis-
sion of my penalty he will grant me further boons.
If you count the suns and the clouds throughout a
year you will find that the day has more often passed
brightly.
33 Co f >
5 So then that you rejoice not overmuch in my ruin,
consider that even I may some day be restored ;
consider that, if the prince is appeased, it may come
to pass that you may be dismayed to see my face in
the midst of the city, and I may see you exiled for a
weightier cause. This, after that first wish, is the
second prayer that I put forth.
IX. IN GRATITUDE
O hadst thou but allowed thy name to be set in
my verse, how oft wouldst thou have been named !
Of thee alone would I have sung in memory of thy
service ; in my books no page would have been
completed without thee. My debt to thee would be
known throughout the city — if I, an exile, am still
read in the city I have lost. Thy kindness the
present, thy kindness later time would know, if only
my writings endure age, nor would the accomplished
reader cease to bless thee ; this honour would abide
with thee for having preserved a poet. Caesar's
gift — that I draw breath — comes first ; after the
mighty gods it is to thee that I must render thanks.
He gave me life ; thou dost preserve the life he gave,
lending me power to enjoy the boon I have received.
When most men shrank with dread at my fall —
some even would have it believed that they had
243
OVID
naufragiumque meum tumulo spectarit l ab alto,
nee dederit nanti per freta saeva manum,
seminecem Stygia revocasti solus ab unda.
20 hoc quoque, quod memores possumus esse, tuum
est.
di tibi se tribuant cum Caesare semper amicos :
non potuit votum plenius esse meum.
haec meus argutis, si tu paterere, libellis
poneret in multa luce videnda labor ;
25 nunc quoque se, quamvis est 2 iussa quiescere, quin te
nominet invitum, vix mea Musa tenet,
utque canem pavidae nactum vestigia cervae
latrantem frustra copula dura tenet,
utque fores nondum reserati carceris acer
30 nunc pede, nunc ipsa fronte lacessit equus,
sic mea lege data vincta atque inclusa Thalia 3
per titulum vetiti nominis ire cupit.
ne tamen officio memoris laedaris amici,
parebo iussis — parce timere — tuis.
35 at non parerem, nisi me meminisse putares.
hoc quod non prohibet vox tua, gratus ero.
dumque — quod o breve sit ! — lumen vitale videbo,
serviet officio spiritus iste 4 tuo.
X.
Ut sumus in Ponto, ter frigore constitit Hister,
facta est Euxini dura ter unda maris.
at mihi iam videor patria procul esse tot annis,
Dardana quot Graio Troia sub hoste fuit.
1 spectaret corr. Heinsius
2 iam quamvis est vel q. e. iam corr. Naugerus (jT ?)
8 Thalia] voluntas 4 ipse
1 Ten years.
244
TRISTIA, V. ix. 17— x. 4
feared it — and gazed from a safe height upon my
shipwreck, extending no hand to him who swam in
the savage seas, thou alone didst recall me half
lifeless from the Stygian waters. My very power to
remember this is due to thee.
21 May the gods and Caesar ever grant thee their
friendship ! Prayer of mine could not be fuller than
this. These things, if thou wouldst permit, my toil
would place in eloquent books in a bright light to be
seen of all : even now, though my Muse lias been
constrained to silence, she scarce refrains from
naming thee against thy will. As a hound that has
scented the trail of a timorous hind, baying all in
vain, is held in check by the unyielding leash, as upon
the door of the barrier as yet unlocked the eager
steed frets now with his hoof, now with his very
brow, so my Thalia, fettered and confined by the
law thou hast imposed, longs to course o'er the glory
of thy forbidden name. Yet that thou mayst not be
injured by the homage of a grateful friend, I will
obey thy commands, fear not. But I would not
obey, if thou didst not think me grateful ; this, which
thy word does not forbid, I shall be — grateful ; and
so long as I behold the light of life — and may the
time be short ! — that life shall be a slave to thy
service.
X. THE EVILS OF TOMIS
Since I have been by the Pontus' shore, thrice has
Hister halted with the cold, thrice has the water of
the Euxine sea grown hard. Yet already I seem to
have been absent from my country as many years l
as Dardanian Troy was besieged by the Grecian
245
OVID
6 stare putes, adeo procedunt tempora tarde,
et peragit lentis passibus annus iter.
nee mihi solstitium quicquam de noctibus aufert,
efficit angustos nee mihi bruma dies,
scilicet in nobis rerum natura novata est,
10 cumque meis curis omnia longa facit.
an peragunt solitos communia tempora motus,
suntque l magis vitae tempora dura meae ?
quern tenet Euxini mendax cognomine litus,2
et Scythici vere terra sinistra freti.
15 innumerae eirca gentes fera bella minantur,
quae sibi non rapto 3 vivere turpe putant.
nil extra tutum est : tumulus defenditur ipse
moenibus exiguis ingenioque loci,
cum minime credas, ut aves,4 densissimus hostis
20 advolat, et praedam vix bene visus agit.
saepe intra muros clausis venientia portis
per medias legimus noxia tela vias.
est igitur rarus, rus qui 5 colere audeat, isque
hac arat infelix, hac tenet arma manu.
25 sub galea pastor iunctis pice cantat avenis,
proque lupo pavidae bella verentur oves.
vix ope castelli defendimur ; et tamen intus
mixta facit Graecis barbara turba metum.
quippe simul nobis habitat discrimine nullo
30 barbarus et tecti plus quoque parte tenet,
quos 6 ut non timeas, possis odisse videndo
pellibus et longa pectora tecta coma.
1 stantque Housman
2 litus r] tellus vel tempus vel pontus
* raptu 4 avis
6 qui iam corr. Heinsiu* ; cf. qui rus £~ ' quoru
246
TRISTIA, V. x. 5-32
foe. One would think that time stood still, so slowly
does it move, and the year completes its journey with
lagging pace. For me the solstice lessens not the
nights, and winter shortens not the days. In my
case surely nature has been made anew and she
makes all things as tedious as my own sorrows. Or
does time in general run its wonted course, and is it
rather that the time of my own life is cruel ? For I
am held by the shore of the false-named Euxine and
the land, in truth ill-omened, of the Scythian sea.1
Countless tribes round about threaten cruel war,
thinking it base to live if not by plunder. Without,
nothing is secure : the hill itself is defended by
meagre walls and by its skilful site. When least
expected, like birds, the foe swarms upon us and
when scarce well seen is already driving off the booty.
Often within the walls when the gates are closed,
we gather deadly missiles in the midst of the streets.
Rare then is he who ventures to till the fields, for
the wretch must plough with one hand, and hold
arms in the other. The shepherd wears a helmet
while he plays upon his pitch-cemented reeds, and
instead of a wolf the timorous ewes dread war.
Scarce with the fortress's aid are we defended ; and
even within that the barbarous mob mingled with
the Greeks inspires fear. For with us dwell without
distinction the barbarians, occupying even more than
half of the dwellings. Even should you not fear
them, you may loathe the sight of their chests
covered with hides and with their long hair. Even
1 Sinistra probably has a double meaning here : (1) ** to
the left " (as one enters from the Bosporus), (2) " ill-omened,"
cf. notes on Tr, iv. 4. 55 and iv. 1. 60.
247
OVID
hos quoque, qui geniti Graia creduntur ab urbe,
pro patrio cultu Persica braca tegit.
35 exercent illi sociae commercia linguae :
per gestum res est significanda mihi.
barbarus hie ego sum, qui non intellegor ulli,
et rident stolidi verba Latina Getae ;
meque palam de me tuto mala saepe loquuntur,
40 forsitan obiciunt exiliumque mihi.
utque fit, in me aliquid ficti,1 dicentibus illis
abnuerim quotiens adnuerimque, putant.
adde quod iniustum 2 rigido ius dicitur ense,
dantur et in medio vulnera saepe foro.
45 o duram Lachesin, quae tarn grave sidus habenti
fila dedit vitae non breviora meae !
quod patriae vultu vestroque caremus, amici,
atque hie in Scythicis gentibus esse queror :
utraque poena gravis. merui tamen urbe carere,
50 non merui tali forsitan esse loco.
quid loquor, a ! demens ? ipsam quoque perdere
vitam,
Caesaris offenso numine, dignus eram.
XI.
Quod te nescioquis per iurgia dixerit esse
exulis uxorem, littera questa tua est,
indolui, non tarn mea quod fortuna male audit,
qui iam consuevi fortiter esse miser,
6 quam quod cui minime vellem, sum causa pudoris,
teque reor nostris erubuisse malis.
1 siquidem vel si quid : ficti Owen a et iustum
1 The original Greek colony of Tomis, cf. Tr. Hi. 9. 3 f.
2 The text is not certain. I have adopted ficti (Owen).
248
TRISTIA, V. x. 33— xi. 6
these who are believed to derive their descent from
the Greek city r wear Persian trousers instead of the
dress of their fathers. They hold intercourse in the
tongue they share ; I must make myself understood
by gestures. Here it is I that am a barbarian,
understood by nobody ; the Getae laugh stupidly at
Latin words, and in my presence they often talk
maliciously about me in perfect security, perchance
reproaching me with my exile. Quite naturally they
think me somehow pretending 2 whenever I have
nodded no or yes to their speech. And besides
unjustly the hard sword dispenses justice, for wounds
are often given in the midst of the market-place.
45 Ah ! cruel Lachesis,3 when my star is so ill-fated,
not to have granted my life a shorter thread ! That
I am separated from the sight of my country and of
you, my friends, that I must lament my abode among
these Scythian tribes — each is a hea*vy penalty. Yet
I deserved exile from the city ; I did not perchance
deserve to be in such a place. What am I saying ?
Madman that I am ! Even my very life I deserved
to lose by offending the divine will of Caesar.
XI. To HIS WIFE
Someone by way of insult has said that thou art
" an exile's wife " — of this thy letter complains. I
was hurt, not so much that my fate is spoken of with
malice — for I am now used to bear my wretchedness
with fortitude — as that I am the cause of shame to
thee to whom I would wish it least of all, and to think
that thou must have blushed for my misfortunes.
8 Lachesis, one of the Fates, spun the thread of life.
249
OVID
perfer et obdura ; multo graviora tulisti,
eripuit cum me principis ira tibi.
fallitur iste tamen, quo iudice nominor exul :
10 mollior est culpam poena secuta meam.
maxima poena mihi est ipsum offendisse, priusque
venisset mallem funeris hora mihi.
quassa tamen nostra est, non mersa x nee obruta navis,
utque caret portu, sic tamen extat aquis.
15 nee vitam nee opes nee ius mihi civis ademit,
qui merui vitio perdere cuncta meo.
sed quia peccato facinus non affuit illi,
nil nisi me patriis iussit abesse focis.
utque aliis, quorum numerum comprendere non est,
20 Caesar eum numen sic mihi mite fuit.
ipse relegati, non exulis utitur in me
nomine : tuta suo iudice causa mea est.
iure igitur laudes, Caesar, pro parte virili
carmina nostra tuas qualiacumque canunt :
25 iure deos, ut adhuc caeli tibi limina claudant,
teque velint sine se, comprecor, esse deum.
optat idem populus ; sed, ut in mare flumina vastum,
sic solet exiguae currere rivus aquae,
at tu fortunam, cuius vocor exul ab ore,
30 nomine mendaci parce gravare meam 1
XIL
Scribis, ut oblectem studio lacrimabile tempus,
ne pereant turpi pectora nostra situ,
difficile est quod, amice, mones, quia carmina laetum
sunt opus, et pacem mentis habere volunt.
1 mersa] fracta
1 See Introd. p. xviii.
250
TRISTIA, V. xi. 7— xii. 4
Endure, harden thy heart ; much heavier things
didst thou bear when the wrath of the prince tore
me from thee. Yet is that judge mistaken who calls
me " exile " : a milder penalty befell my fault. My
greatest penalty consists in having offended Him : I
would the hour of death had come upon me first !
Yet my bark was but shattered, not submerged and
overwhelmed, and though it is deprived of a harbour,
yet even so it floats upon the waters. Neither life
nor property nor civil rights did he take from me,
although by my fault I deserved to lose all. But
since no deed accompanied my sin, he ordained
naught save that I should leave my native hearth.
As to others, whose number may not be counted, so
to me Caesar's power was mild. He himself uses
in my case the term " relegatus," l not exile. My
cause is secure by reason of him who judged it.
23 Rightly then, Caesar, do my verses, however
humble, sing to the best of their power thy praises :
rightly do I pray the gods to keep their threshold
still closed to thee, and to will that thou be a god
apart from them. The people offer the same prayer ;
but as rivers run into the wide sea, so runs a brook
with its meagre stream.
29 But thou, whose lips call me " exile," cease to
burden my fate with a lying name.
XI I. ONCE A POET —
You write bidding me amuse my tearful hours
with my pursuit, that my wits be not ruined through
unseemly sloth. My friend, your advice is hard,
for verse, being the work of joy, would have the mind
251
OVID
5 nostra per adversas agitur fortuna procellas,
sorte nee ulla mea tristior esse potest.
exigis ut Priamus natorum funere ludat,1
et Niobe festos ducat ut orba chores,
luctibus an studio videor debere teneri,
10 solus in extremes iussus abire Getas ?
des licet in valido pectus mihi robore fultum,
fama refert Anyti quale fuisse reo,2
fracta cadet tantae sapientia mole ruinae :
plus valet humanis viribus ira dei.
15 ille senex, dictus sapiens ab Apolline, nullum
scribere in hoc casu sustinuisset opus,
ut veniant patriae, veniant oblivia vestri,3
omnis ut amissi sensus abesse queat,
at timor officio fungi vetat ipse 4 quietum :
20 cinctus ab innumero me tenet hoste locus,
adde quod ingenium longa rubigine laesum
torpet et est multo, quam fuit ante, minus,
fertilis, assiduo si non renovatur5 aratro,
nil nisi cum spinis gramen habebit ager.
25 tempore qui longo steterit, male curret 6 et inter
carceribus missos ultimus ibit equus.
vertitur in teneram cariem rimisque dehiscit,
siqua diu solitis cumba vacavit 7 aquis.
me quoque despera,8 fuerim cum parvus et ante,
30 illi, qui fueram, posse redire parem.
contudit ingenium patientia longa malorum,
et pars antiqui nulla vigoris adest.
1 plaudat 2 rei vel sen is 8 nostri
4 esse : ipse r 5 renovetur vel removetur
8 currit 7 vacabit corr. r 8 desperc
1 Socrates. The Delphian Oracle declared that nobo
was wiser than Socrates.
252
TRISTIA, V. xn. 5-32
at peace. My fate is driven on by hostile blasts ;
nothing could be more gloomy. You are requiring
Priam to disport himself at the death of his sons,
Niobe in her bereavement to lead a gay dance. Is
it mourning or poetry, think you, that should occupy
him who was bidden to go alone to the land of the
distant Getae ? You may give me a heart sup-
ported by the mighty power which they say he l
possessed who was accused by Anytus, but wisdom
will fall with a crash under the mass of such a mighty
ruin, for the wrath of a god overpowers human
strength. That famous old man, called a sage by
Apollo, would have had no power in this misfortune
to write a single work. Though forgetfulness of
country should come, though forgetfulness of you
should come, though all realization of what I have
lost could leave me, yet very fear forbids the peaceful
performance of the task, for I dwell in a place girt
about by countless foes. And besides my talent,
injured by long neglect, is dull, much inferior to
what it was before. A fertile field, if it be not
renewed by constant ploughing, will produce nothing
but grass and thorns. The horse which has stood for
a long time will run but poorly and will be last among
those released from the barrier.2 Any skiff falls
into frail rottenness, yawning with cracks, if it has
been long separated from its accustomed waters.
For me also feel despair that, little as I was even
before, I can become once more the man I was. My
talent has been crushed by my long endurance of
woes : no part of my former vigour remains. Yet
2 Before the start of a race the horses were held within
barriers.
253
OVID
siqua l tamen nobis, ut nunc quoque, sumpta tabell
est,
inque suos volui cogere verba pedes,
35 carmina nulla mihi sunt scripta,2 aut qualia cernis,
digna sui domini tempore, digna loco,
denique non parvas animo dat gloria vires,
et fecunda facit pectora laudis amor,
nominis et famae quondam fulgore trahebar,
40 dum tulit antemnas aura secunda meas.
non adeo est bene nunc ut sit mihi gloria curae :
si liceat, nulli cognitus esse velim.
an quia cesserunt primo bene carmina, suades
scribere, successus ut sequar ipse meos ?
45 pace, novem, vestra liceat dixisse, sorores :
vos estis nostrae maxima causa fugae.
utque dedit iustas tauri fabricator aeni,
sic ego do poenas artibus ipse meis.
nil mihi debebat cum versibus amplius esse,
60 cum fugerem merito naufragus omne fretum.
at, puto, si demens studium fatale retemptem,
hie mihi praebebit carminis arma locus,
non liber hie ullus, non qui mihi commodet aurem,
verbaque significant quid mea, norit, adest.
55 omnia barbariae loca sunt vocisque ferinae,
omniaque hostilis 3 plena timore soni.
ipse mihi videor iam dedidicisse Latine :
nam didici Getice Sarmaticeque loqui.
nee tamen, ut verum fatear tibi, nostra teneri
GO a componendo carmine Musa potest.
scribimus et scriptos absumimus igne libellos :
exitus est studii parva favilla mei.
nee possum et cupio non nullos ducere versus :
ponitur idcirco noster in igne labor,
1 siqua Bentley] saepe
254
TRISTIA, V. xii. 33-64
if, as now, I have taken up some tablet and sought
to force words into proper feet, no verses are written
by me or only such as you see — worthy of their
master's state, worthy of his place. In short desire
for fame lends no small strength to the mind, love of
praise makes the heart fertile. Once I was drawn
on by the glamour of name and fame while the
favouring breeze bore on my yards. 'Tis not so
well with me now that I care for renown ; if 'twere
possible I would have none know of me.
43 Or is it because at first my verse went well that
you advise me to write — to follow up my success ?
By your leave, sisters nine, would I say it : you are
the chief cause of my exile. As the maker A of the
bronze bull paid the just penalty, so I am paying the
penalty for my art. I ought to have nothing more
to do with verse, for once shipwrecked I rightly shun
every sea. But, forsooth, if I should be mad enough
to try once more the fatal pursuit, will this place
afford me the equipment for song ! There is not a
book here, not a man to lend ear to me, to know
what my words mean. All places are filled with
barbarism and cries of wild animals, all are filled
with the fear of a hostile sound. I myself, I think,
have already unlearned my Latin, for I have learned
how to speak Getic and Sarmatian.
69 And yet, to confess the truth to you, my Muse
cannot be restrained from composing verses. I write
poems which once written I consume in the fire ; a
few ashes are the result of my toil. I have not the
power and yet I long to compose some verse ; hence
l Perillus.
* carmina sunt niihi scripta aut nulla vel carmina scripta
mihi sunt nulla * hostilis Merkel] possint vel possunt
255
OVID
65 nee nisi pars casu flammis erepta dolove
ad vos ingenii pervenit ulla mei.
sic utinam, quae nil metuentem tale magistrum
perdidit, in cineres Ars mea versa foret !
XIII.
Hanc tuus e Getico mittit tibi Naso salutem,
mittere si quisquam, quo caret ipse, potest.
aeger enim traxi contagia corpore mentis,
fibera tormento pars mihi ne qua vacet,
5 perque dies multos lateris cruciatibus uror ;
sic me non medico 1 frigore laesit hiems.
si tamen ipse vales, aliqua nos parte valemus :
quippe mea est umeris fulta ruina tuis.
quid,2 mihi cum dederis ingentia pignora, cumque
10 per numeros omnes hoc tueare caput,
quod tua me raro solatur epistula, peccas,
remque piam praestas, sed 3 mihi verba negas ?
hoc, precor, emenda ! quod si correxeris unum,
nullus in egregio corpore naevus erit.
15 pluribus accusem, fieri nisi possit, ut ad me
littera non veniat, niissa sit ilia tamen.
di faciant, ut sit temeraria nostra querella,
teque putem falso non memiriisse mei.
quod precor, esse liquet : neque enim mutabile robur
20 credere me fas est pectoris esse tui.
cana prius gelido desint absinthia Ponto,
et careat dulci Trinacris Hybla thymo,
inmemorem quam te quisquam convincat amici.
non ita sunt fati stamina nigra mei.
1 sed quod non modico (in inmodico) corr. Ellis.
2 qui 3 si ; sed s"
1 The Am amatoria.
2 The under surface of the leaves is white.
256
TRISTIA, V. xii. 65— xni. 24
my labour is placed in the fire, and nothing but a bit
of my effort, saved by chance or by craft, reaches
you. In such wise I would that my " Art," l which
ruined a master who feared nothing of the kind, had
been turned to ashes !
XIII. SICK AND REPROACHFUL
This " Health " thy Naso sends thee from the
Getic land, if anyone can send what he himself has
not. For being sick at heart I drew the contagion
into my body — that no part of me may be free from
torture ! — and for many days I have been tortured
by an aching side ; thus has the excessive cold of
the winter injured me. Yet if thou art well, I am
well in some degree, for my ruin was supported by
thy shoulders. Why, when thou hast given me
mighty proofs of love, when thou dost in every fashion
guard this life of mine, dost thou err in rarely com-
forting me with a letter, supplying me the fact of
loyalty but denying rne the words ? Correct this, I
beg of thee ; if thou amend one thing, there will be
no blemish on the perfect body.
16 I should bring more accusations against thee were
it not possible that though no letter reaches me, yet
that one has been sent. God grant that my com-
plaint be groundless — that I am wrong in believing
thou hast forgotten me. What I pray for is true,
'tis clear ; for it is not right for me to believe the
steadfast strength of thy heart can change. Sooner
would the white2 wormwood fail the icy Pontus,
sooner would Trinacrian Hybla lack its sweet thyme
than anyone could convict thee of forgetting a friend.
Not so black as that are the threads of my fate. But
s 257
OVID
25 tu tamen, ut possis falsae quoque pellere culpae
crimina, quod non es, ne videare, cave,
utque solebamus consumere longa loquendo
tempora, sermoiii l deficiente die,
sic ferat ac referat tacitas nunc littera voces,
30 et peragant linguae charta manusque vices,
quod fore ne nimium videar diffidere, sitque
versibus hoc paucis admonuisse satis,
accipe quo semper finitur epistula verbo —
atque meis distent ut tua fata ! — " vale."
XIV.
Quanta tibi dederim nostris monumenta libellis,
o mihi me coniunx carior, ipsa vides.
detrahat auctori multum fortuna licebit,
tu tamen ingenio clara ferere meo ;
6 durnque legar, mecum pariter tua fama legetur,
nee potes in maestos omnis abire rogos ;
cumque viri casu possis miseranda videri,
invenies aliquas, quae, quod es, esse velint,
quae te, nostrorum cum sis in parte malorum,
10 felicem dicant invideantque tibi.
non ego divitias dando tibi plura dedissem :
nil feret ad Manes divitis umbra suos.
perpetui fructum donavi nominis idque,
quo dare nil potui munere maius, habes.
15 adde quod, ut2 rerum sola es tutela mearum,
ad te non parvi venit honoris onus,
quod numquam vox est de te mea muta tuique
indiciis debes esse superba viri.
1 sermone 2 et : ut lleinsius
258
TRISTIA, V. xin. 25— xiv. 18
that thou mayst repel the charge (false though it is)
of fault, beware of seeming what thou art not. As
we were wont to pass long hours in converse, till day-
light failed our talk, so now should our letters bring
and return our voiceless words, and the paper and
our hands should perform the office of our tongues.
Lest I seem to distrust overmuch that this shall be
so (and may a few lines suffice to have given this
reminder), receive that word with which every letter
is ended — that thy fate may differ from mine ! — the
word " farewell " ! 1
XIV. To HIS WIFE
What a memorial I have reared to thee in my
books, O my wife, dearer to me than myself, thou
seest. Though fate may take much from their
author, thou at least shalt be made illustrious by my
powers. As long as men read me thy fame shall be
read along with me ; nor canst thou utterly pass
away into the sad pyre. Although thy husband's
fate* may cause thee to seem worthy of pity, thou
wilt find some who wish to be what thou art, who in
that thou dost share my woes, will call thee fortunate
and envy thee. Not by giving thee riches could I
have given thee more : nothing will the rich man's
shade carry to its ghostly realm. I gave thee enjoy-
ment of an immortal name, and thou hast a boon than
which I could give none greater. And besides, as thou
art the sole guardian of my fortunes, an honour of no
small moment has come to thee, for my voice is never
silent about thee and thou shouldst be proud of thy
1 Vale has a double meaning: (H goodbye, (2) " fare you
well " (literally). (2) explains the clause atque . . , fata
259
OVID
quae ne quis possit temeraria dicere, persta,
20 et pariter serva meque piauique iidem.
nam tua, dum stetimus, turpi sine crimine mansit,
et tan turn l probitas inreprehensa fuit.
area de 2 nostra nunc est tibi facta ruina ;
conspicuum virtus hie tua ponat opus.
25 esse bonam facile est, ubi, quod vetet esse, remotum
est,
et nihil officio nupta quod obstet habet.
cum deus intonuit, non se subducere nimbo,
id demum est pietas, id socialis amor,
rara quidem virtus, quam nori Fortuna gubernet,
30 quae maneat stabili, cum fugit ilia, pcde.
siqua tamen pretium sibi virtus 3 ipsa petitum,
inque parum laetis ardua rebus adest,
ut tempus numeres, per saecula nulla tacetur,
et loca mirantur qua patet orbis iter.
35 aspicis ut longo teneat laudabilis aevo
noinen inextinctum Penelopea fides ?
cernis ut Admeti cantetur et Hectoris uxor
ausaque in accensos Iphias ire rogos ?
ut vivat fama coniunx Phylacei'a, cuius
40 Iliacam celeri vir pede pressit humum ?
morte nihil opus est pro me, sed amore fideque :
non ex difficili fama petenda tibi est.
nee te credideris, quia non facis, ista moneri :
vela damus, quamvis remige puppis eat,
45 qui monet ut facias, quod iam facis, ille monendo
laudat et hortatu comprobat acta suo.
1 tanta 2 par (vd per) eadcm : area de Withof
3 nicrces : virtus Ehwald
260
TRISTIA, V. xiv. 19-46
husband's testimony. That none may think it rashly
given, stand thou firm ; preserve me and thy loyal
devotion alike. For thy goodness, whilst I stood
secure, remained free from accusation's taint, at best
uncriticized,1 but now by my fall a space has been
cleared for thee ; here let thy virtue build a struc-
ture clear to see. Tis easy to be good when that
which forbids it has been removed and a wife has
nothing opposing her duty. When the god thunders,
not to avoid the cloud — that is loyalty indeed, that
is wedded love. Rare indeed is the virtue not
piloted by Fortune, which remains on steady feet
when Fortune flees. Yet whenever virtue is herself
her own coveted reward and remains upright in
adversity, though you count all time, she is passed
over in silence by no age, she is given homage wher-
ever the world's highway extends. Seest thou how
Penelope's faith is praised in the long reaches of time
and how her name never dies ? How Admetus' wife 2
and Hector's 3 are sung, and the daughter of Iphis,4
who dared to mount the lighted pyre ? How the
wife of the hero 5 of Phylacos lives, whose husband
touched with his swift foot the soil of Ilium ? I need
not thy death, but thy love, thy faith ; not by hard
ways hast thou to seek for fame. Nor believe that
I am reminding thee because thou art not acting : I
am but giving sails to a bark that is already using the
oars. He who reminds thee to do what thou art
already doing, by so reminding praises thy acts and
by his very exhortation approves them.
1 i.e. it was only (tantum) nothing evil that was said of
you ; now you have a chance to win a positive fame.
2 Alcestis. 8 Andromache. 4 Evadne.
5 Protesilaus, whose wife was Laodamia.
261
EPISTULAE EX PONTO
EX PONTO LIBER PRIMUS
I.
Naso Tomitanae iam non novus incola terrae
hoc tibi de Getico litore mittit opus,
si vacat, hospitio peregrinos, Brute, libellos
excipe, dumque aliquo, quolibet abde loco.1
5 publica non audent intra 2 monimenta venire,
ne suus hoc illis clauserit auctor iter.
a ! quotiens dixi " certe nil turpe docetis :
ite, patet castis versibus ille locus ! "
non tamen accedunt, sed, ut aspicis ipse, latere
10 sub Lare privato tutius esse putant.
quaeris ubi hos possis nullo componere laeso ?
qua steterant Artes, pars vacat ilia tibi.
quid 3 veniant, novitate rogcs fortasse sub ipsa.
accipe, quodcumque est, dummodo non sit amor.
15 invenies, quamvis non est miserabilis index,
non minus hoc illo triste, quod ante dedi.
rebus idem, titulo differt ; et epistula cui sit
non occultato nomine missa docet.
nee vos hoc vultis, sed nee prohibere potestis,
20 Musaque ad invitos officiosa venit.
1 loco] modo 2 inter 3 qui
1 i.e. a public library.
2 Most of the Tristia are addressed to individuals who are
not named.
EX PONTO— BOOK I
I. To BRUTUS
NASO, no recent dweller now in the land of Tomis,
sends to you this work from the Getic shore. If you
have leisure, entertain and harbour, Brutus, these
poems from a foreign land ; hide them away where
you will, yet somewhere. They venture not to enter
a public memorial 1 for fear their master has closed
for them this way. Ah, how often have I said,
" Surely you give no base instruction ! Go ! Clean
verse may freely enter that place ! " Yet these
verses go not thither, but as you see they deem it
safer to lie in the seclusion of a private household.
Do you ask where you can lay them without injuring
anybody ? Where once stood my " Art " there you
have a vacant space.
13 What they come for, perchance you may ask
while their novelty is still fresh. Take them, what-
ever it is, so only it be not love. You will find, though
the title implies no sorrow, that this work is not less
sad than that which I sent before — in theme the
same, in title different, and each epistle reveals the
recipient without concealing his name.2 You are all
averse to this but cannot prevent it ; my Muse comes
to you with homage even against your will. What-
265
OVID
quicquid id est, adiunge meis. nihil impedit ortos
exule servatis legibus urbe frui.
quod metuas non est. Antoni scripta leguntur,
doctus et in promptu scrinia l Brutus habet.
25 nee me nominibus furiosus confero tantis :
saeva deos contra non tamen arma tuli.
denique Caesareo, quod non desiderat ipse,
non caret e nostris ullus honore liber,
si dubitas de me, laudes admitte deorum,
30 et carmen dempto nomine sume meum.
adiuvat in bello pacatae ramus olivae :
proderit auctorem pacis habere nihil ?
cum foret Aeneae cervix subiecta parenti,
dicitur ipsa viro flamma dedisse viam :
35 fert liber Aeneaden, et non iter omne patebit ?
at patriae pater hie, ipsius ille fuit.
ecquis ita est audax, ut limine cogat abire
iactantem Pharia tinnula sistra manu ?
ante deum Matrem cornu tibicen adunco
40 cum canit, exiguae quis stipis aera negat ?
scimus ab imperio fieri nil tale Dianae :
unde tamen vivat, vaticinator habet.
ipsa movent animos superorum numina nostros,
turpe nee est tali credulitate capi.
45 en ego pro sistro Phrygiique foramine buxi
gentis luleae nomina sancta fero.
1 scrinia] carmina
1 M. Junius Brutus, the conspirator.
2 Augustus prided himself on restoring and maintaining
peace. 8 Anchises.
4 i.e. Augustus, who is borne by Ovid's book, is as father
of his country much more important than Anchises, who
was father only of the man who bore him.
8 The sistrum was an instrument used in the worship of
266
EX PONTO, I. i. 21-46
ever it be then, add it to my writings. Nothing
hinders an exile's offspring, if they observe the law,
from enjoying the city. There is naught for you
to fear ; Antony's writings are still read, and the
accomplished Brutus l finds book-cases in readiness
for him. I am not so mad as to compare myself
with such great names, yet I have borne no hostile
arms against the gods. In fine Caesar, though he
needs it not, lacks not homage in any book of mine.
If about me you doubt, admit a eulogy of the gods :
receive my song after removing the name. In war
the peaceful olive branch is useful ; shall it profit me
nothing that my song contains the author of peace 2 ?
When Aeneas bore a father3 upon his shoulders,
the very flames, they say, made a path for the hero.
If a book bears upon its pages the descendant of
Aeneas, shall not every path be open to it ? Yet
the one is father of his country, the other only of
his bearer ! 4
37 Is there any so brazen as to force from his door
one who shakes the ringing sistra 5 of Pharos in his
hand ? When before the mother 6 of the gods the
piper plays upon his curved horn, who denies him a
few coppers ? No such thing 7 results, we know, by
Diana's command, yet the prophet has the where-
withal to live. The very power of the celestials stirs
our hearts and there is nothing disgraceful in yielding
to such credulity. Lo, I, in place of sistrum or
hollow shaft of Phrygian boxwood, come bearing the
Isis which made a sharp metallic click. Pharos, an island
near Alexandria, represents this Egyptian cult.
8 Cybele.
7 i.e. as that alms should be given to prophets (perhaps
at Diana's temple at Aricia).
267
OVID
vaticinor moneoque. locum date sacra ferenti !
non mihi, sed magno poscitur ille deo.
nee quia vel merui vel sensi principis iram,
50 a nobis ipsum l nolle putate coli.
vidi ego linigerae 2 numen violasse fatentem
Isidis Isiacos ante sedere focos.
alter, ob huic similem privatus lumine culpam,
clamabat media se meruisse via.
55 talia caelestes fieri praeconia gaudent,
ut sua quid valeant numina teste probent.
saepe levant poenas ereptaque lumina reddunt,
cum bene peccati paenituisse vident.
paenitet, o ! si quid rniserorum creditur ulli,
60 paenitet, et facto torqueor ipse meo.
cumque sit exilium, magis est mihi culpa dolori ;
estque pati poenam, quam meruisse, minus,
ut mihi di faveant, quibus est manifestior ipse,
poena potest demi, culpa perennis erit.
65 mors faciet certe, ne sim, cum venerit, exul :
ut 3 non peccarim mors quoque non faciet.
non igitur mirum, si mens mea tabida facta
de nive manantis more liquescit aquae,
estur ut occulta vitiata teredine navis,
70 aequorei scopulos ut cavat unda salis,
roditur ut scabra positum robigine ferrum
conditus ut tineae carpitur ore liber,
sic mea perpetuos curarum pectora morsus,
fine quibus nullo conficiantur, habent.
1 ipsum] ilium 2 lanigerae
8 nee vel ne : ut Ca Owen
1 The form is a complimentary reference to the descent
of the Julii from lulus, son of Aeneas, cf. Ex P. ii. 5. 49.
2 A mollusk which weakens timber by boring holes in it.
268
EX PONTO, I. i. 47-74
holy names of the lulean1 race. I am a prophet, a
monitor ! Give place to one who bears holy objects !
Not by me, but by a mighty god that place is claimed.
Because I have earned or felt the Prince's wrath, do
not suppose that I would not worship the Prince him-
self. I have seen one who confessed to have out-
raged the deity of linen-wearing Isis sitting before
Isis's shrine. Another bereft of sight for a like cause
was crying out in the midst of the street that he had
deserved it. The gods rejoice in such heraldings that
witnesses may attest their power. Often do they
mitigate penalties and restore the sight they have
taken away when they behold sincere repentance for
sin. I too repent ! O, if any wretched man is
believed in anything, I too repent ! I feel the
torture of my own deed ! Though exile is anguish,
greater anguish is my fault and it is a smaller thing
to suffer the punishment than to have deserved it.
What though the gods and he who is more con-
spicuous than the gods should favour me, my punish-
ment can be removed, my fault will remain forever.
Death at least by his coming will put an end to my
exile, my sin even death will not remove.
67 'Tis then no marvel if my heart has softened and
melts as water runs from snow. It is gnawed as a
ship is injured by the hidden borer,2 as the briny sea
water hollows out the crags, as stored iron is eaten
by corroding rust, as the book when laid away is
nibbled by the worm's teeth, so my heart feels the
constant gnawing of sorrow which will finish its work
269
OVID
75 nee prius hi mentem stimuli quam vita relinquet,
quique dolet, citius quam dolor ipse, cadet,
hoc mihi si superi, quorum sumus omnia, credent,1
forsitan exigua dignus habebor ope,
inque locum Soythico vacuum mu tabor ab arcu.
80 plus isto, duri, si precer, oris ero.
II.
Maxime, qui tanti mensuram nominis imples,
et geminas animi nobilitate genus,
qui nasci ut posses, quamvis cecidere trecenti,
non omnes Fabios abstulit una dies,
5 forsitan haec a quo mittatur epistula quaeras,
quisque loquar tecum, certior esse velis.
ei mihi, quid faciam ? vereor ne nomine lecto
durus et aversa cetera mente legas.
videris.2 audebo 3 tibi me scripsisse fateri
10 , , . .4
qui, cum me poena dignum graviore fuisse
confitear, possum vix graviora pati.
hostibus in mediis interque pericula versor,
tamquam cum patria pax sit adempta mihi :
15 qui, mortis saevo geminent ut vulnere causas,
omnia vipereo spicula felle linunt.
his eques instructus perterrita moenia lustrat
more lupi clausas circueuntis oves :
et 5 semel intentus nervo levis arcus equino
20 vincula semper habens inresoluta manet.
tecta rigent fixis veluti velata 6 sagittis,
portaque vix firma summovet arma sera.
1 credant 2 viderit corr. Hetnsius
8 audebo] haec siquis 4 om. AC : spuria habent celt.
6 at 6 vallata
270
EX PONTO, I. i. 75—ii. 22
— never ! These stings will not leave my mind
sooner than life ; he who suffers will perish more
quickly than the suffering itself. If the celestials,
to whom in all things I belong, believe me in this,
perchance I shall be deemed worthy of a little succour
and they will change my abode to one free from the
Scythian bow ; should I pray for more than that, my
lips will be bold indeed.
II. To MAXIMUS
Maximus, you who fill out the measure of a mighty
name doubling nobility of birth by that of soul, you
for whose birth, though three hundred fell, one day
did not destroy all the Fabii * — perchance you may
ask by whom this letter is sent and wish to be told
who am I that talk with you. Ah me ! what am I
to do ? I fear that when you read the name you will
Cv stern and read what remains with heart averse,
k you to that. I shall venture the confession
that I have written to you. ... I, who admitting
that I have deserved a worse punishment, can scarce
endure one worse. I live in the midst of enemies,
in the midst of perils — as if, with my native land,
peace had been taken from me — enemies who, to
double with a cruel wound the causes of death, smear
every dart with viper's gall. Equipped with these
the horseman circles the frightened walls as a wolf
runs about the fenced sheep. The light bow once
bent with its horsehair string remains with its bonds
ever unrelaxed. The roofs bristle with implanted
arrows as if shrouded in a veil, and the gate scarce
repels attack with sturdy bar.
1 In a battle with the Veientes, more than 300 Fabii are
said to have fought, and only one escaped, cf. Livy ii. 48.
271
OVID
adde loci faciem nee fronde nee arbore tecti.1
et quod iners hiemi continuatur hiems.
25 hie me pugnantem cum frigore cumque sagittis
cumque meo fato quarta fatigat hiems.
fine carent lacrimae, nisi cum stupor obstitit illis :
et similis morti pectora torpor habet.
felicem Nioben, quamvis tot funera vidit,
30 quae posuit sensum saxea facta malis !
vos quoque felices, quarum clamantia fratrem
cortice velavit populus ora novo !
ille ego sum, lignum qui non admittar in ullum :
ille ego sum, frustra qui lapis esse velim.
35 ipsa Medusa oculis veniat licet obvia nostris,
amittet vires ipsa Medusa suas.
vivimus ut numquam sensu careamus arnaro,
et gravior longa fit mea poena mora.
sic inconsumptum Tityi semperque renascens
40 non perit, ut possit saepe perire, iecur.
at, puto, cum requies medicinaque publica curae
somnus adest, solitis nox venit orba malis.
somnia me terrent veros imitantia casus,
et vigilant sensus in mea damria mei.
45 aut ego Sarmaticas videor vitare sagittas,
aut dare captivas ad fera vincla manus.
aut ubi decipior melioris imagine soinni,
aspicio patriae tecta relicta meae.
et modo vobiscum, quos sum veneratus, aniici,
50 et modo cum cara coniuge multa loquor.
sic ubi percepta est brevis et non vera voluptas,
peior ab admonitu fit status iste boni.
sive dies igitur caput hoc miserabile cernit,
sive pruiriosi Noctis aguntur equi,
* laeti
1 The sisters of Phaethun.
272
EX PONTO, I. n. 23-54
23 Add to this the aspect of a land protected by
neither leaf nor tree, and that lifeless winter without
break runs into winter. Here am I fighting with
cold, with arrows, with my own fate, in the weariness
of the fourth winter. My tears are limitless save
when a lethargy checks them, and a deathlike stupor
possesses my breast. Happy Niobe, though she saw
so many deaths, for she lost sensation when she was
turned to stone by her misfortunes. Happy you l
also whose lips, in the act of calling upon your brother,
the poplar clothed with new bark. I am one who
am transformed into no wood, I am one who in vain
wish to be a stone. Should Medusa herself come
before my eyes, even Medusa will lose her power.
My life is such that I never lose the bitterness of
sensation and my punishment becomes worse through
its long duration. So Tityus's liver unconsumed and
ever growing anew perishes not, in order that it may
have the power to be ever perishing.
41 " But," I suppose, " when rest and sleep, the
common healer of cares, attend me, night comes free
from the usual woes ! " Dreams affright me that
mimic real dangers, and my senses wake to my own
hurt. Either I think myself avoiding Sarmatian
arrows or offering a captive's hands to cruel bonds or,
when I am beguiled by the semblance of a happier
dream, I behold the buildings of the native city I
have left, I hold long converse now with you, my
friends, whom I once revered, now with my dear wife.
Thus when I have had this short and unreal joy,
the remembrance of happiness renders this state of
mine all the worse.
63 So whether day beholds this wretched being or
whether Night is driving her frosty steeds, my heart
T 273
OVID
65 sic mea perpetuis liquefiunt l pectora curis,
ignibus admotis ut nova cera solet.
saepe precor mortem, mortem quoque deprecor idem,
ne mea Sarmaticum contegat ossa solum.
cum subit Augusti quae sit dementia, credo
60 mollia naufragiis litora posse dari.
cum video quam sint mea fata tenacia, frangor,
spesque levis magno victa timore cadit.
nee tamen ulterius quicquam sperove precorve,
quam male mutato posse carere loco.
65 aut hoc, aut nihil est, pro me temptare modeste
gratia quod salvo vestra pudore queat.
suscipe, Romanae facundia, Maxime, linguae,
difficilis causae mite patrocinium.
est mala, confiteor, sed te bona fiet agente,
70 lenia pro misera fac modo verba fuga.
nescit enim Caesar, quamvis deus omnia norit,
ultimus hie qua sit condicione locus,
magna tenent illud numen molimina rerum :
haec est caelesti pectore cura minor.
75 nee vacat, in qua sint positi regione Tomitae,
quaerere, finitimo vix loca nota Getae,
aut quid Sauromatae faciant, quid lazyges acres
cultaque Oresteae Taurica terra deae,
quaeque aliae gentes, ubi frigore constitit Hister,
80 dura meant celeri terga per amnis equo.
maxima pars hominum nee te, pulcherrima, curat,
Roma, nee Ausonii militis arma timet.
dant illis animos arcus plenaeque pharetrae
quamque libet longis cursibus aptus equus,
86 quodque sitim didicere diu tolerare famemque,
quodque sequens nullas hostis habebit aquas.
1 liquescimt
274
EX PONTO, I. n. 55-86
melts from unending sorrows as fresh wax is wont
to do when fire is brought near. Often I pray for
death, yet I even beg off from death for fear that
the Sarmatian soil may cover my bones. When I
remember Augustus's mercy, I believe it possible that
a kindly shore may be offered for my shipwreck.
When I see how persistent is my fate, I break down
and my slight hope falls away vanquished by a mighty
fear. Yet I neither hope nor pray for anything
further than the power even by a wretched change
to be rid of this place. Tis either this or nothing
that your favour can attempt in moderation for me
without impairing your self-respect. Maximus,
eloquence of the Roman tongue, take upon yourself
the merciful pleading of a difficult case. A bad case,
I admit, but it will become a good one if you plead it ;
only utter some words of sympathy in behalf of
wretched exile. For Caesar knows not, though a
god knows all things, the nature of this remote place.
Great undertakings engross his divine mind ; this is
a matter too small for his godlike heart. He has no
leisure to inquire where the Tomitae are situated, a
region hardly known to the neighbouring Getan ; or
what the Sauromatae are doing, or the fierce lazyges,
and the Tauric land watched over by Orestes' god-
dess,1 or what other tribes, when cold halts the
Hister's flow, wind along the icy back of the stream
on swift horses. The most of these people neither
care for thee, fair Rome, nor fear the arms of Ausonian
soldiery. Bows and full quivers lend them courage,
and horses capable of marches however lengthy
and the knowledge how to endure for long both
thirst and hunger, and that a pursuing enemy will
1 Diana.
275
OVID
ira viri mitis non me misisset in istam,
si satis haec illi nota fuisset humus,
nee me nee quemquam Romanum gaudet ab hoste,
90 meque minus, vitam cui dabat l ipse, capi.
noluit, ut2 poterat, minimo me perdere nutu.
nil opus est ullis in mea fata Getis.
sed neque, cur morerer, quicquam mihi comperit
actum,
et minus infestus, quam fuit, esse potest.
95 tune quoque nil fecit nisi quod facere ipse coegi :
paene etiam merito parcior ira meo est.
di faciant igitur, quorum iustissimus ipse est,
alma nihil maius Caesare terra ferat,
utque fuit 3 sub eo, sic sit sub Caesare terra,4
100 perque manus huius tradita gentis eat.
at tu tarn plaeido, quam nos quoque sensimus ilium
iudice pro lacrimis ora resolve meis.
non petito 5 ut bene sit, sed uti male tutius, utque
exilium saevo distet ab hoste meum,
105 quamque dedere mihi praesentia numina vitam,
non adimat stricto squalidus ense Getes :
denique, si moriar, subeam pacatius arvum,
ossa nee a Scythica nostra prernantur humo,
nee male compositos, ut scilicet exule dignum,
110 Bistonii cineres ungula pulset equi,
et ne, si superest aliquis post funera sensus,
terreat et Manes Sarmatis umbra meos.
Caesaris haec animum poterant audita movere,
Maxime, movissent si tamen ante tuum.
115 vox, precor, Augustas pro me tua molliat aures,
auxilio trepidis quae solet esse reis,
1 dedit vel dabit corr. Merkd 2 at 3 diu : fuit Ehwald
4 sit publica saroina terrae (publice saroterra A}
6 petis vel pete corr. Daumius
276
EX PONTO, I. ii. 87-116
have no water. The wrath of a merciful man would
not have sent me to such a land if he had known it
well. Nor is he pleased that I or any Roman be
taken by an enemy — I least of all, to whom he him-
self granted life. He would not, as he could have
done, destroy me with the slightest nod. There is
no need of any Getae to bring about my death. But
he found no act on my part worthy of death, and 'tis
possible that he is less incensed against me than he
was. Even then he did nothing save what I forced
him to do ; his wrath is almost more moderate than
I deserve. May then the gods, of whom he is him-
self the most just, cause the nourishing earth to bring
forth nothing greater than Caesar, and as it has been
long under Caesar's sway, so may it continue, passing
on through the hands of his family.
101 But do you open your lips in behalf of my tears
at a time when the judge is as mild as I found him.
Ask not that I may be happy, but that I may be safer
in my unhappiness, that my place of exile may be
distant from the cruel enemy ; that the life granted
me by a very present deity may not be taken from
me by the drawn sword of some filthy Getan ; in
fine, if I should die, that I may be buried in a more
peaceful land and my bones be not crushed down by
Scythian soil, nor my ashes, meanly buried, as doubt-
less an exile deserves, be trampled by the hoof of a
Bistonian horse ; and if there be some feeling that
survives after death, that no Sarmatian shade terrify
even my spirit.
113 This tale, Maximus, might move the soul of
Caesar, yet only if it had first moved yours. Let your
voice, I pray, soften in my behalf the ears of Caesar,
for it is wont to aid frightened defendants, and with
277
OVID
adsuetaque tibi doctae dulcedine linguae
aequandi superis pectora flecte viri.
non tibi Theromedon crudusque rogabitur Atreus,
120 quique suis homines pabula fecit equis,
sed piger ad poenas princeps, ad praemia velox,
quique dolet, quotiens cogitur esse ferox,
qui vicit semper, victis ut parcere posset,
clausit et aeterna civica bella sera,
125 multa metu poenae, poena 1 qui pauca coercet,
et iacit invita fulmina rara manu.
ergo tarn placidas orator missus ad aures,
ut propior patriae sit fuga nostra roga.
ille ego sum, qui te colui, quern festa solebat
130 inter convivas mensa videre tuos :
ille ego, qui duxi vestros Hymenaeon ad ignes,
et cecini fausto carmina digna toro,
cuius te soli turn memini laudare libellos,
exceptis domino qui nocuere suo,
135 cui tua nonnumquam miranti scripta legebas :
ille ego de vestra cui data nupta domo est.
hanc probat et primo dilectam semper ab aevo
est inter comites Marcia censa suas,
inque suis habuit matertera Caesaris ante :
140 quarum iudicio siqua probata, proba est.
ipsa sua melior fama, laudantibus istis,
Claudia divina non eguisset ope.
nos quoque praeteritos sine labe peregimus annos :
proxima pars vitae transilienda meae.
1 et qui multa metu sed poena vel multa metu cohibet poena
1 Diomedes, king of the Bistones.
278
EX PONTO, I. n. 117-144
the usual sweetness of your accomplished tongue
influence the heart of a hero whom we must liken
to the gods. You will have to appeal to no Thero
medon, no cruel Atreus, or to him l who made human
beings fodder for his horses, but to a prince, slow
to punish, quick to reward, who sorrows whenever
he is forced to be severe, who has ever conquered
that he might have power to spare the conquered,
who has shut in civil war with an everlasting bar, who
controls many things by the fear of punishment, few
by punishment itself, hurling the thunderbolt rarely
and with unwilling hand.
127 So then since you are sent to plead in such merci-
ful ears ask that my place of exile may be nearer my
native land. I am he who attended upon you, whom
the festal board used to see among your guests, I am
he who led Hymenaeus to your wedding torches and
sang a lay worthy of your propitious union, whose
books, I remember, you used to praise with the
exception of those which harmed their master ; who
used to admire the writings that you sometimes read
to him, to whom a bride 2 was given from your house-
hold. She has the respect of Marcia,3 who has loved
her from her early years and given her a place
among her companions ; earlier still Caesar's aunt4 so
regarded her, and any woman approved in their
judgment is indeed approved. Even she who was
better than her own fame, even Claudia, had such
women praised her, would have needed no divine aid.
143 I, too, lived the years that are past without a
blemish ; the most recent part of my life must be
passed over in silence. But to say naught of myself,
2 Ovid's third wife, perhaps a Fabia. 8 The wife of Maximus.
4 Atia minor, wife of L. Marcius Philippus.
279
OVID
145 sed de me ut sileam,1 coniunx mea sarcina vestra est :
non potes hanc salva dissimulare fide,
confugit haec ad vos, vestras amplectitur aras
— iure venit cultos ad sibi quisque deos —
flensque rogat, precibus lenito Caesare vestris,
150 busta sui flant ut propiora viri.
III.
Hanc tibi Naso tuus mittit, Rufine, salutem,
qui miser est, ulli si suus esse potest.
reddita confusae nuper solacia menti
auxilium nostris spemque tulere malis.
5 utque Machaoniis Poeantius artibus heros
lenito medicam vulnere sensit opem,
sic ego mente iacens et acerbo saucius ictu
adinomtu coepi fortior esse tuo,
et iam deficiens sic ad tua verba revixi,
10 ut solet infuso vena redire mero.
non tamen exhibuit tantas facundia vires,
ut mea sint dictis pectora sana tuis.
ut multum demas nostrae 2 de gurgite curae,
non minus exhausto quod superabit erit.
15 tempore ducetur longo fortasse cicatrix :
horrent admotas vulnera cruda manus.
non est in medico semper relevetur ut aeger :
interdum docta plus valet arte malum.
cernis ut e molli sanguis pulmone remissus
20 ad Stygias certo limite ducat aquas,
afferat ipse licet sacras Epidaurius herbas,
sanabit nulla vulnera cordis ope.
1 taceam 2 nostro corpora (pectore)
280
EX PONTO, I. n. 145— m. 22
my wife is a charge upon you ; you cannot deny her
and maintain your loyalty. She flees to you for
refuge, embracing your altar (rightly does each come
to the gods whom he himself worships) and in tears
she begs that you may soften Caesar by your prayers
and bring the tomb of her husband nearer.
III. To RUFINUS
This greeting, Rufmus, your friend Naso sends you
— if a wretched man can be anyone's friend.
3 The consolation that but now you sent to my dis-
tressed heart brought aid and hope to my woes.
As the Poeantian hero l through the art of Machaon
felt in his soothed wound the healing aid, so I, pros-
trate in soul and wounded by a bitter blow, began to
grow stronger through your admonition when I was
just on the point of failing ; I was as much restored by
your words as the pulse is wont to revive when wine
is administered. Yet your eloquence had not such
power that my heart is whole through your words.
You may take much from my flood of woe, but there
will remain not less than you have drained away.
Perhaps in long time a scar will form ; a raw wound
quivers at the touch of a hand. 'Tis not always in
a physician's power to cure the sick ; at times the
disease is stronger than trained art. You see how
the blood emitted from a tender lung leads by an
unerring path to the waters of the Styx. Let the
Epidaurian 2 in person bring holy herbs, he will have
no skill with which to heal wounds in the heart. The
1 Philoctetes.
* Aesculapius, whose greatest temple was at Epidaurus.
281
OVID
tollere nodosam nescit medicina podagram,
nee formidatis auxiliatur aquis.
25 cura quoque interdum nulla medicabilis arte est —
aut, ut sit, longa est extenuanda mora.
cum bene firmarunt animum praecepta iacentem,
sumptaque sunt nobis pectoris arma tui,
rursus amor patriae ratione valentior omni,
30 quod tua fecerunt scripta, retexit opus,
sive pium vis hoc sive hoc muliebre vocari,
confiteor misero molle cor esse mihi.
non dubia est Ithaci prudentia, sed tamen optat
fumum de patriis posse videre focis.
35 nescioqua natale solum dulcedine cunctos
ducit et inmemores non sinit esse sui.
quid melius Roma ? Scythico quid frigore peius ?
hue tamen ex ilia1 barbarus urbe fugit.
cum bene sit clausae cavea Pandione natae,
40 nititur in silvas ilia redire suas.
adsuetos tauri saltus, adsueta leones —
nee feritas illos impedit — antra petunt.
tu tamen exilii morsus e pectore nostro
fomentis speras cedere posse tuis.
45 effice vos ipsi ne tam mihi sitis amandi,
talibus ut levius sit caruisse malum.
at, puto, qua genitus fueram, tellure carenti
in tamen humano contigit esse loco,
orbis in extremi iaceo desertus harenis,
60 fert ubi perpetuas obruta terra nives.
non ager hie pomum, non dulces educat uvas,2
non salices ripa, robora monte virent.
neve fretum laudes terra magis, aequora semper
ventorum rabie solibus orba tument.
1 ista 2 herbas
l Ulysses. a Philomela, the nightingale.
282
EX PONTO, I. in. 23-54
healing art knows not how to remove crippling gout,
it helps not the fearful dropsy. Sorrow too can find
at times no skill that will cure it or else to be cured
it must be worn away by long time. When your
admonitions have strengthened my prostrate soul and
I have put on the armour of your heart, once again
my love for the fatherland, stronger than any reason-
ing, undoes the work that your writings have wrought.
Whether you call this loyal or womanish, I admit that
in my wretchedness my heart is soft. None doubt
the Ithacan's l wisdom, but yet he prays that he may
see the smoke from his native hearth. By what
sweet charm I know not the native land draws all
men nor allows them to forget her. What is better
than Rome ? What worse than the cold of Scythia ?
Yet hither the barbarian flees from that city. Though
Pandion's daughter 2 may be well off in her cage, she
strives to return to her own forests . Bullocks seek their
familiar pastures, lions in spite of their wild nature
their familiar lairs. Nevertheless you hope that the
gnawing pangs of exile can be made by your soothing
to leave my breast. See to it that you and yours be
not yourselves so dear to me ; so will it be a slighter
misfortune to be deprived of you. " But," I suppose,
" though I am separated from the land of my birth, I
have yet had the good fortune to be in a place where
men dwell ! " At the edge of the world I lie aban-
doned on the strand, where the buried earth supports
constant snows. No fields here produce fruit, nor
sweet grapes, no willows are green upon the bank,
nor oaks upon the hill. Nor can you praise the sea
more than the land, for the sunless waters ever heave
beneath the madness of the winds. Wherever you
283
OVID
55 quocumque aspicies,1 campi cultore carentcs
vastaque, quae nemo vindicat, arva iacent.
hostis adest dextra laevaque a parte timendus,
vicinoque metu terret utrumque latus.
altera Bistonias pars est sensura sarisas,
60 altera Sarmatica spicula missa manu.
i nunc et veterum nobis exempla virorum
qui forti casum mente tulere refer,
et grave magnanimi robur mirare Rutili
non usi reditus condi clone dati.
65 Smyrna virum tenuit, non Pontus et hostica tellus,
paene minus nullo Smyrna petenda loco,
non doluit patria cynicus procul esse Sinopeus,
legit enim sedes, Attica terra, tuas.
arma Neoclides qui Persica contudit armis,
70 Argolica primam sensit in urbe fugam.
pulsus Aristides patria Lacedaemona fugit,
inter quas dubium, quae prior esset, erat.
caede puer facta Patroclus Opunta reliquit,
Thessalicamque adiit hospes Achillis humum.
75 exul ab Haemonia Pirenida cessit ad undam,
quo duce trabs Colcha sacra cucurrit aqua,
liquit Agenorides Sidonia moenia Cadmus,
poneret ut muros in meliore loco,
venit ad Adrastum Tydeus Calydone fugatus,
80 et Teucrum Veneri grata recepit humus.
quid referam veteres Romanae gentis, apud quos
exulibus tellus ultima Tibur erat ?
persequar ut cunctos, nulli datus omnibus aevis
tarn procul a patria est horridiorve locus.
1 P. Rutilius Rufus, an opponent of Marius, who went
into voluntary exile at Smyrna.
284
EX PONTO, I. in. 55-84
gaze, lie plains with no tillers, vast steppes which
no man claims. Close at hand on the right and left
is a dreaded enemy terrifying us with imminent fear
on both sides. One side is on the eve of feeling the
Bistonian spears, the other the darts sped by the
hand of the Sarmatian. Now then go and cite for
me the example of men of old who bore danger with
strong mind ; admire the impressive strength of
great-souled Rutilius x who would not avail himself of
the proffered offer of return home ! Smyrna held
him, not the Pontus or a hostile land — Smyrna, than
which scarce any place is more to be desired. It
grieved not the cynic 2 of Sinope to be far from his
native city, for he chose a home in the land of Attica.
Neocles' son,3 who with arms beat down the arms of
Persia, first experienced exile in the city of Argos.
Aristides expelled from his native city found refuge
in Sparta — and it was doubtful which of these two
excelled. Young Patroclus, having slain a man, left
Opus and became the guest of Achilles in Thessaly.
From Haemonia to Pirene's spring fled the exile 4
under whose guidance the sacred ship skimmed the
waters of Colchis. Agenor's son Cadmus left the
battlements of Sidon to establish walls in a better
place.5 Tydeus came to Adrastus 6 when exiled
from Calydon, Teucer found refuge in the land7 that
Venus loves. Why need I tell of the men of olden
Roman race with whom the remotest land of exile
was Tibur 8 ? Though I should enumerate every
exile, none in any age has ever been assigned to a
more forbidding place so far from his native land.
2 Diofrenes. 3 Themistocles. 4 Jason.
6 Thebes. 6 At Argos. 7 Cyprus.
8 About eighteen miles from Rome.
285
OVID
85 quo magis ignoscat sapientia vestra dolenti :
quae facit ex dictis, non ita multa, tuis.
nee tamen infitior, si possint nostra coire
vulnera, praeceptis posse coire tuis.
sed vereor ne me frustra servare labores,
90 neu iuver admota perditus aeger ope.
nee loquor haec, quia sit maior prudentia nobis,
sed sum quam medico notior ipse mihi.
ut tamen hoc ita sit, munus tua grande voluntas
ad me pervenit consuliturque boni.
IV.
lam mihi deterior canis aspergitur aetas,
iamque meos vultus ruga senilis arat :
iam vigor et quasso languent in corpore vires,
nee, iuveni lusus qui placuere, iuvant.
5 nee, si me subito videas, agnoscere possis,
aetatis facta est tanta ruina meae.
confiteor facere hoc annos, sed et altera causa est,
anxietas animi continuusque labor,
nam mea per longos siquis mala digerat annos,
10 crede mihi, Pylio Nestore maior ero.
cernis ut in duris — et quid bove firmius ? — arvis
fortia taurorum corpora frangat opus,
quae numquam vacuo solita est cessare novali,
fructibus assiduis lassa senescit humus.
15 occidet, ad Circi siquis certamina semper
non intermissis cursibus ibit equus.
firma sit ilia licet, solvetur in aequore navis,
quae numquam liquidis sicca carebit aquis.
286
EX PONTO, I. m. 85— iv. 18
85 And so let your wisdom pardon one in grief ; what
he does that is in accord with your words is not much.
Yet I do not deny that could my wounds heal, 'tis
through your teaching they could heal. But I fear
that it is in vain you strive to save me, and that I shall
not be helped in my desperate sickness by the aid
you bring. And this I say, not because I have the
greater wisdom, but I know myself better than any
doctor can. Yet in spite of this, your good will has
come to me as a great boon and I take it in good part.
IV. To HIS WIFE
Now is the worse period of life upon me with its
sprinkling of white hairs, now the wrinkles of age are
furrowing my face, now energy and strength are
weakening in my shattered frame. On a sudden
shouldst thou see me, thou couldst not recognize me ;
such havoc has been wrought with my life. I admit
that this is the work of the years, but there is yet
another cause — anguish and constant suffering. For
should my misfortunes be distributed by anybody
through a long series of years, I shall be older, I
assure thee, than Pylian Nestor.
11 Thou seest how in the stubborn fields the sturdy
bullocks — and what is stronger than a bullock ? — are
broken in body with toil. The land which has never
been wont to rest as idle fallow, grows weary and old
with constant production. That horse will fall which
enters every contest of the Circus without omission.
Strong though she be, the ship will break up in the
sea which never is hauled from the clear waters to
287
OVID
me quoque debilitat series inmensa malorum,1
20 ante meum tempus cogit et esse senem.
otia corpus alunt, animus quoque pascitur illis :
inmodicus contra carpi t utrumque labor,
aspice, in has partis quod venerit Aesone natus,
quam laudem a sera posteritate ferat.
25 at labor illius nostro leviorque minorque est,
si modo non verum nomina magna premunt.
ille est in Pontum Pelia mittente profectus,
qui vix Thessaliae fine timendus erat.
Caesaris ira mihi nocuit, quern solis ab ortu
30 solis ad occasus utraque terra trcmit.
iunctior Haemonia est Ponto, quam Roma, Sinistro,2
et brevius, quam nos, ille peregit iter.
ille habuit comites primos telluris Achivae :
at nostram cuncti destituere fugam.
35 nos fragili ligno vastum sulcavimus aequor :
quae tulit Aesoniden, densa carina 3 fuit.
nee mihi Tiphys erat rector, nee Agenore natus
quas fugerem docuit quas sequererque vias.
ilium tutata est cum Pallade regia luno :
40 defendere meum numina nulla caput.
ilium furtivae iuvere Cupidinis artes ;
quas a me vellem non didicisset Amor,
ille domum rediit : nos his moriemur in arvis,
perstiterit laesi si gravis ira dei.
45 durius est igitur nostrum, fidissima coniunx,
illo, quod subiit Aesone natus, opus.4
te quoque, quam iuvenem discedens urbe reliqui,
credibile est nostris insenuisse malis.
o, ego di faciant talem te cernere possim,6
50 caraque mutatis oscula ferre comis,
1 laborum 2 sit bistro corr. Burmann
3 sacra carina (sa carina) vel firma carina
288
EX PONTO, I. iv. 19-50
dry. I too am weakened by the measureless series
of my woes and am perforce an old man before my
time.
21 Leisure nourishes the body, the mind too feeds
upon it, but excessive toil impairs both. Behold
what praise the son * of Aeson, because he came to
this region, receives from late posterity. Yet his
toil was lighter and smaller than mine, if only mighty
names do not keep down the truth. He set forth to
Pontus dispatched by Pelias who was scarce dreaded
as far as the bounds of Thessaly. Caesar's anger
wrought my ruin at whom the world of sunrise and
of sunset alike tremble. Haemonia is closer to ill-
omened Pontus than Rome, and he completed a
shorter journey than I. He had as comrades the
leaders of the Achaean land, but I was abandoned of
all on my journey. In a frail bark I ploughed the
vast sea ; the one that carried Aeson *s son was a
staunch ship. I had no Tiphys for a pilot nor did
Agenor's son 2 teach me what ways to avoid and what
to follow. He was safeguarded by Pallas and queenly
Juno ; no deities defended my life. He was aided
by the wily arts of Cupid ; would that Love had not
learned them from me ! He came back to his home ;
I shall die in this land, if the weighty wrath of the
injured god persists. Harder then is my task, my
faithful wife, than that which Aeson 's son endured.
47 Thou too, whom I left in youth when I set out
from the city, doubtless hast aged in consequence of
my misfortunes. O, may the gods grant that I can see
thee thus, lovingly kiss thy altered locks, and folding
1 Jason. 2 Phineus.
289
OVID
amplectique meis corpus non pingue lacertis,
et " gracile hoc fecit " dicere " cura mei,"
et narrare meos flenti flens ipse labor es,
sperato numquam conloquioque frui,
66 turaque Caesaribus cum coniuge Caesare digna,
dis veris, memori debita ferre manu !
Memnonis hanc utinam lenito principe mater
quam primum roseo provocet ore diem !
V.
Ille tuos quondam non ultimus inter amicos,
ut sua verba legas, Maxime, Naso rogat.
in quibus ingenium desiste requirere nostrum,
nescius exilii ne videare mei.
6 cernis ut ignavum corrumpant otia corpus,
ut capiant vitium,1 ni moveantur, aquae,
et mihi siquis erat ducendi carminis usus,
deficit estque minor factus inerte situ,
haec quoque, quae legitis, siquid mihi, Maxime, credis,
10 scribimus invita vixque coacta manu.
non libet in talis animum contendere curas,
nee venit ad duros Musa vocata Getas.
ut tamen ipse vides, luctor deducere versum :
sed non fit fato mollior ille meo.
16 cum relego, scripsisse pudet, quia plurima cerno
me quoque, qui feci, iudice digna lini.
nee tamen emendo. labor hie quam scribere maior,
mensque pati durum sustinet aegra nihil.
scilicet incipiam lima mordacius uti,
20 et sub iudicium singula verba vocem ?
1 capeant vitio
290
EX PONTO, I. iv. 51— v. 20
thy slender body in my arms say, " Love for me hath
wasted thee so," and amid mutual tears tell thee of
my sufferings, enjoying a talk I have never hoped for,
and offering to the Caesars and the wife who is
worthy of Caesar the incense due from my grateful
hand. Would that Memnon's mother,1 when the
Prince is softened, might with rosy lips call forth this
day as soon as may be !
V. To MAXIMUS
Tis he who was once not last among your friends
— 'tis Naso, asks you, Maximus, to read his words.
Seek not in them my native wit lest you seem unaware
of my banishment. You see how inactivity spoils an
idle body, how water acquires a taint unless it is in
motion. For me, too, whatever skill I had in shaping
song is failing, diminished by inactive sloth. Even
this that you read, Maximus, if in anything you
believe me, I write forcing it with difficulty from an
unwilling hand. There is no pleasure in straining
the mind to such a task, nor does the Muse come at
one's call to the stern Getae. Yet, as you see, I am
struggling to weave verses, but the fabric is not
softer than my fate. When I read it over I am
ashamed of my work because I note many a thing
that even in my own, the maker's judgment, deserves
to be erased. Yet I do not correct it. This is a
greater labour than the writing, and my sick mind
has not the power to endure anything hard. Am
I forsooth to use the file more bitingly, subjecting
single words to criticism ? Does fortune indeed
1 Aurora.
291
OVID
torquet enim fortuna parum, nisi Lixus in Hebrum
confluat, et frondes Alpibus addat Atho l ?
parcendum est animo miserabile vulnus habenti.
subducunt oneri colla perusta boves.
25 at, puto, fructus adest, iustissima causa laborum,
et sata cum multo faenore reddit ager ?
tempus ad hoc no bis, repetas licet omnia, nullum
profuit — atque utinam non nocuisset ! — opus,
cur igitur scribam, miraris ? miror et ipse,
30 et tecum quaero saepe quid inde petam.
an populus vere sanos negat esse poetas,
sumque fides huius maxima vocis ego,
qui, sterili totiens cum sim deceptus ab arvo,
damnosa persto condere semen humo ?
35 scilicet est cupidus studiorum quisque suorum,
tempus et adsueta ponere in arte iuvat.
saucius eiurat pugnam gladiator, et idem
inmemor antiqui vulneris arma capit.
nil sibi cum pelagi dicit fore naufragus undis,
40 et ducit remos qua modo navit aqua.
sic ego constanter studium non utile servo,
et repeto, nollem quas coluisse, deas.
quid potius faciam ? non sum, qui segnia ducam
otia : mors nobis tempus habetur iners.
45 nee iuvat in lucem nimio marcescere vino,
nee tenet incertas alea blanda manus.
cum dedimus somno quas corpus postulat boras,
quo ponam vigilans tempora longa modo ?
moris an oblitus patrii contendere discam
60 Sarmaticos arcus, et trahar arte loci ?
1 athos
292
EX PONTO, I. v. 21-50
torture me too little without my making the Lixus
flow into the Hebrus and Athos add leaves to the
Alps ? One must spare a soul that has a wretched
wound ; oxen withdraw their chafed necks from a
burden. " But," I suppose, " a reward is at hand, the
most justifiable reason for toil, and the field is return-
ing the seed with much usury ! " To the present no
work of mine, though you enumerate them all, has
brought me profit — would that none had harmed
me !
29 Why then do I write, you wonder? I too wonder,
and with you I often ask what I seek from it. Or do
the people say true that poets are not sane and am I
the strongest proof of this maxim — I who though so
many times deceived by the barrenness of the soil,
persist in sowing my seed in ground that ruins me ?
Clearly each man shows a passion for his own pursuits,
taking pleasure in devoting time to his familiar art.
The wounded gladiator forswears the fight, yet for-
getting his former wound he dons his arms. The
shipwrecked man declares that he will have nothing
to do with the waves of the sea, yet plies the oar in
the water in which but recently he swam. In the
same way I continually hold to a profitless pursuit,
returning to the goddesses whom I would I had not
worshipped. What rather shall I do ? I am not one
to lead a life of idle leisure ; I regard idleness as
death. I take no pleasure in steeping myself in
wine until daylight, and the alluring dice attract
not my shaking hands. WThen I have devoted to
sleep what hours my frame demands, how am I to
spend the long period of wakefulness ? Forgetting
the ways of my native land shall I learn how to bend
the Sarmatian bow, attracted by the accomplishment
293
OVID
hoc quoque me studium prohibent adsumere vires,
mensque magis gracili corpore nostra valet,
cum bene quaesieris quid agam, magis utile nil est
artibus his, quae nil utilitatis habent.
65 consequor ex illis casus oblivia nostri :
hanc messem satis est si mea reddit humus,
gloria vos acuat, vos, ut recitata probentur
carmina, Pieriis invigilate choris.
quod venit ex facili, satis est componere nobis,
60 et nimis intenti causa laboris abest.
cur ego sollicita poliam mea carmina cura ?
an verear ne non approbet ilia Getes ?
forsitan audacter faciam, sed glorior Histrum
ingenio nullum maius habere meo.
65 hoc, ubi vivendum est, satis est, si consequor arvo,
inter inhumanos esse poeta Getas.
quo mihi diversum fama contendere in orbem ?
quern fortuna dedit, Roma sit ille locus,
hoc mea contenta est infelix Musa theatre :
70 sic merui, magni sic voluere dei.
nee reor hinc istuc nostris iter esse libellis,
quo Boreas pinna deficiente venit.
dividimur caelo, quaeque est procul urbe Quirini,
aspicit hirsutos comminus Ursa Getas.
76 per tantum terrae, tot aquas vix credere possum
indicium studii transiluisse mei.
finge legi, quodque est mirabile, tinge placere :
auctorem certe res iuvat ista nihil.
quid tibi, si calidae, prosit, laudere Syenae,1
80 aut ubi Taprobanen Indica tinguit aqua ?
1 calidae . . . syene etc. corr. Riese
294
EX PONTO, I. v. 51-80
of the country ? Even this pursuit my strength
prevents me from adopting, for my mind is stronger
than my slender body.
63 When you have pondered well what I am to do,
nothing is more useful than this art which has no use.
From it I win forgetfulness of my misfortune ; this
harvest is enough if my ground but yields it. As
for you — your goad may be renown ; to read your
poems and win approval, devote your wakeful hours
to the Pierian band. Tis enough for me to compose
what comes easily ; I lack a reason for too earnest
toil. Why should I refine my verse with anxious
labour ? Should I fear that the Getan will not
approve them ? Perchance 'tis bold of me, and yet
I boast that the Hister has no greater talent than
mine. In this land where I must live 'tis enough if I
succeed in being a poet among the uncivilized Getae.
Why should I attempt to reach with fame the opposite
side of the world ? Let that place be Rome which
fortune has given me. With this theatre my un-
happy Muse is content : so have I deserved, so have
the great gods willed.
71 And I think that my books cannot journey from
this place to your region whither Boreas comes on
failing wing. We are separated by the heavens'
space, and the She Bear who is far from the city of
Quirinus gazes close at hand upon the shaggy Getae.
Over so vast a stretch of land, so many waters I can
scarce believe it possible that a hint of my work has
leaped. Suppose it is read, and — marvellous indeed
— suppose it finds favour; that fact surely helps its
author not at all. What profit to you if you should
be praised in hot Syene,1 or where the Indian waves
1 Assuan, far up the Nile at the bounds of the empire.
295
OVID
altius ire libet ? si te distantia longe
Pleiadum laudent signa, quid inde feras ?
sed neque pervenio scriptis mediocribus istuc,
famaque cum domino fugit ab urbe suo.
85 vosque, quibus perii, tune cum mea fama sepulta est,
nunc quoque de nostra morte tacere reor.
VI.
Ecquid, ut audisti — nam te diversa tenebat
terra — meos casus, cor tibi triste fuit ?
dissimules metuasque licet, Graecine, fateri,
si bene te novi, triste fuisse liquet.
5 non cadit in mores feritas inamabilis istos,
nee minus a studiis dissidet ilia tuis.
artibus ingenuis, quarum tibi maxima cura est,
pectora mollescunt asperitasque fugit.
nee quisquam meliore fide complectitur illas,
10 qua sinit officium militiaeque labor.
certe ego cum primum potui sentire quid esscm
— nam fuit attoniti l mens mea nulla diu —
hoc quoque fortunam 2 sensi, quod amicus abesses,
qui mihi praesidium grande futurus eras.
16 tecum tune aberant aegrae solacia mentis,
magnaque pars animi consiliique mei.
at nunc, quod superest, fer opem, precor, eminus
unam,
adloquioque iuva pectora nostra tuo,
quae, non mendaci si quicquam credis amico,
20 stulta magis dici quam scelerata decet.
nee breve nee tutum peccati quae sit origo
scribere ; tractari vulnera nostra timent.
1 attonito corr. Ehwald 2 fortunae <r
1 Perhaps Ceylon.
296
EX PONTO, I. v. 81— vi. 22
dye Tabropanes x ? Would you go further ? If the
far distant stars of the Pleiads should praise you, what
would you gain ? But I do not penetrate by virtue
of my commonplace writings to that place of yours ;
the author's fame was banished with him from his own
city. And you in whose eyes I died when my fame
was buried, now also, I think, are silent about my
death.2
VI. To GRAECINUS
Is it true that when you heard of my disaster., for
you were then in a different land, your heart was sad ?
You may try to hide it and shrink from the admission,
Graecinus, but if I know you well, 'tis certain it was
sad. Revolting cruelty does not square with your
character and is no less at variance with your pur-
suits. The liberal arts, for which you care above all
things, soften the heart arid expel harshness. No-
body embraces them with greater faith than you —
so far as duty and the toil of a soldier's life permit.
For mv part as soon as I realized what I was — for long
was I stunned and had no powers of thought — I felt
in this also my fate that you, my friend, were absent,
— you who were sure to be my great support. With
you at that time were absent all that solaces a sick
mind, and a great part of my courage and my counsel.
17 But as it is, for this alone remains, bring me one
aid, I beseech you, from afar ; help with your com-
forting words a heart which, if you believe at all a
friend who does not lie, should be called foolish rather
than wicked. It would be long and not safe to tell
the story of my sin, and my wounds fear to be
a i.e. they had ceased even to talk about his living death
in exile.
297
OVID
qualicumque modo mihi sunt 1 ea facta, rogare
desine : non agites, siqua coire veils.
25 quicquid id est, ut non facinus, sic culpa vocanda
est.
omnis an in magnos culpa deos scelus est ?
spes igitur menti poenae, Graecine, levandae
non est ex toto nulla relicta meae.
haec dea, cum fugerent sceleratas numina terras,
30 in dis invisa sola remansit humo.
haec facit ut vivat fossor quoque compede vinctus,
liberaque a ferro crura futura putet.
haec facit ut, videat cum terras undique nullas,
naufragus in mediis brachia iactet aquis.
35 saepe aliquem sellers medicorum cura reliquit,
nee spes huic vena deficiente cadit.
carcere dicuntur clausi sperare salutem,
atque aliquis pendens in cruce vota facit.
haec dea quam multos laqueo sua colla ligantis
40 non est proposita passa perire nece !
me quoque conantem gladio finire dolorem
arguit iniecta continuitque manu,
" quid " que " facis ? lacrimis opus est, non sanguine"
dixit,
" saepe per has flecti principis ira solet."
46 quamvis est igitur meritis indebita nostris,
magna tamen spes est in bonitate dei.
qui ne difficilis mihi sit, Graecine, precare,
confer et in votum tu quoque verba meum.
inque Tomitana iaceam tumulatus harena,
50 si te non nobis ista vovere liquet.
nam prius incipient turris vitare columbae,
antra ferae, pecudes gramina, mergus aquas,
1 sint corr. Ehwald
298
EX PONTO, I. vi. 23-52
touched. However I came by those wounds, cease
to ask about them : disturb them not, if you wish
them to heal. Whatever that is, though it does not
deserve the term " crime," yet it should be called a
" fault." Or is every fault against the great gods a
crime ?
27 Hope therefore of lessening my punishment,
Graecinus, has not altogether forsaken my soul.
That goddess, when all other deities abandoned the
wicked earth, remained alone on the god-detested
place. She causes even the ditcher to live in spite of
his shackles and to think that his limbs will be freed
from the iron. She makes the shipwrecked man, see-
ing no land on any side, move his arms in the midst of
the waves. Oft has a man been abandoned by the
skill and care of physicians, but hope leaves him not
though his pulses fail. Those who are shut in prison
hope for release, they say, and many a one hanging
on the cross still prays. How many this goddess has
prevented in the act of fastening the noose about
their throats from perishing by the death they had
purposed ! Me also as I was attempting to end my
grief with the sword she rebuked, checking me with
a touch of her hand and saying, " What are you
about ? There is need of tears, not blood ; often by
tears the wrath of a prince may be turned aside."
And so although I do not deserve it, yet I have
strong hope in the kindness of the god. Pray,
Graecinus, that he be not hard for me to win ; add
too some words of your own to my supplication.
May I lie entombed in the sands of Tomis if it is
not clear that you are a suppliant in my behalf.
For sooner will the pigeons avoid the towers, the wild
beasts the forest glades, the cattle the grass, and the
299
OVID
quam male se praestet veteri Graecinus amico.
non ita sunt fatis omnia versa meis.
VII.
Littera pro verbis tibi, Messaline, salutem
quam legis, a saevis attulit usque Getis.
indicat auctorem locus ? an, nisi nomine lecto,
haec me Nasonem scribere verba latet ?
6 ecquis in extreme positus iacet orbe tuorum,
me tamen excepto, qui precor esse tuus ?
di procul a cunctis, qui te venerantur amantque
huius notitiam gentis habere l velint.
nos satis est inter glaciem Scythicasque sagittas
10 vivere, si vita est mortis habenda genus,
nos premat aut bello tellus, aut frigore caelum,
truxque Getes armis, grandine pugnet 2 hiems :
nos habeat regio nee porno feta nee uvis,
et cuius nullum cesset ab hoste latus.
15 cetera sit sospes cultorum turba tuorum,
in quibus, ut populo, pars ego parva fui.
me miserum, si tu verbis offenderis istis
nosque negas ulla parte fuisse tuos !
idque sit ut verum, mentito ignoscere debes :
20 nil demit laudi gloria nostra tuae.
quis se Caesaribus notus non fingit amicum ?
da veniam lasso : tu mihi Caesar eras.3
nee tamen inrumpo quo non licet ire, satisque est
atria si nobis non patuisse negas.
1 abesse a pulset S" 8 eris
300
EX PONTO, I. vi. 53— vn. 24
gull the waters than Graecinus will weakly support
an old friend. Not so utterly have all things been
changed by my fate.
VII. To MESSALINUS
Letters, instead of spoken words, Messalinus, have
brought you the greeting which you read all the way
from the fierce Getae. Is the place a token of the
author ? Or unless you have read the name are you
unaware that I who write these words am Naso ?
Does any one of your friends except myself — who
pray that I am your friend — lie at the very edge of
the world ? May the gods will that all who show you
respect and love may have no knowledge of this race !
Enough that / should live midst ice and Scythian
arrows — if a kind of death must be considered life.
Let me be hard pressed by war on the earth or by
the chill of heaven, the wild Getae fighting with arms
and the winter with its hail ; let me be held in a
country that produces neither fruit nor grape, that
has no side free from an enemy : but safe be all the
other throng of your clients, among whom, as mid a
host, I was but one of many. Alas for me if you take
offence at such words as these and deny that I have
been connected with you in any respect. For even
though that were true, you ought to pardon my false-
hood ; your praise loses nothing through this boast
of mine. What acquaintance of the Caesars does
not imagine himself a friend ! Pardon me the con-
fession ; you have ever been in my eyes a Caesar.
And yet I do not force my way where I am not allowed
to go, and 'tis enough if you do not deny that your
halls were open to me. Though you had nothing
301
OVID
25 utque tibi fuerit mecum nihil amplius, uno
nempe salutaris, quam priiis, ore minus,
nee tuus est genitor nos infitiatus amicos,
hortator studii causaque faxque mei :
cui nos et lacrimas, supremum in funere munus,
30 et dedimus medio scrip ta canenda foro.
adde quod est frater, tanto tibi iunctus amore,
quantus in Atridis Tyndaridisque fuit :
is me nee comitem nee dedignatus amicum est :
si tamen haec illi non nocitura putas.
36 si minus, hac quoque me mendacem parte fatebor :
clausa mihi potius tota sit ista domus.
sed neque claudenda est, et nulla potentia vires
praestandi, ne quid peccet amicus, habet.
et tamen ut cuperem culpam quoque posse negari,
40 sic facinus nemo nescit abesse mihi.
quod nisi delicti pars excusabilis esset,
parva relegari poena futura fuit.
ipse sed hoc vidit, qui pervidet omnia, Caesar,
stultitiam dici crimina posse mea :
45 quaque ego permisi, quaque est res passa, pepercit,
usus et est modice fulminis igne sui.
nee vitam nee opes nee ademit posse reverti,
si sua per vestras victa sit ira preces.
at graviter cecidi. quid enim mirabile, si quis
60 a love percussus non leve vulnus habet ?
ipse suas etiam x vires inhiberet Achilles,
missa gravis ictus Pelias hasta dabat.
iudicium nobis igitur cum vindicis adsit,
non est cur tua me ianua nosse neget.
65 culta quidem, fateor, citra quam debuit, ilia est :
sed fuit in fatis hoc quoque, credo, meis.
1 etiam] quamvis
302
EX PONTO, I. vii. 25-56
more to do with me, surely you are saluted by one
voice less than of old. Your father did not deny my
friendship, he who was at once the encourager, the
cause, and the guiding light of my pursuit. For him
I gave tears which are the final meed of death, and
I wrote verses to be chanted in the midst of the forum.
You have also a brother united to you with as great
a love as that which joined the Atridae1 or the
Tyndaridae 2 : he has not disdained me as companion
or as friend, yet only if you deem these words will
not harm him. Else will I confess a falsehood in this
particular also ; rather let that whole house be closed
to me. Yet it ought not to be closed to me, for no
power has strength to guarantee that a friend will
do no wrong. And yet even as I could crave the
power to deny my fault, so everybody knows that
mine is no crime. And unless a part of my sin were
pardonable, exile would have been a small punish-
ment. But he himself saw this, he who sees all
things — Caesar — that my crimes might be termed
folly. So far as I permitted, so far as circum-
stances allowed, he spared me, making but a mild
use of his flaming thunderbolt. He took from me
neither life nor property nor the possibility of return —
if his wrath should be conquered by your prayers.
49 Yet heavy was my fall. What wonder if one
smitten by Jupiter has no slight wound ? Even
should Achilles restrain his power, the Pelian spear
he hurled dealt heavy strokes. Inasmuch then as I
have the judgment of him who punishes me in my
favour, there is no reason why your doorway should
deny knowledge of me. I admit I paid less court
to it than I ought, but that too was fated for me, I
1 Agamemnon and Menelaus. * Castor and Pollux.
303
OVID
nee tamen officium sensit domus altera nostrum
sic : illic 1 vestro sub Lare semper eram.
quaeque tua est pietas, ut te non excolat ipsum,
60 ius aliquod tecum fratris amicus habet.
quid quod, ut emeritis referenda est gratia semper,
sic est fortunae promeruisse tuae ?
quod si permittis nobis suadere quid optes,
ut des quam reddas plura precare deos.
65 idque facis, quantumque licet meminisse, solebas
officii causae 2 pluribus esse datis.3
quo libet in numero me, Messaline, repone,
sim modo pars vestrae non aliena domus :
et mala Nasonem, quoniam meruisse videtur,
70 si non ferre doles, at meruisse dole.
VIII.
A tibi dilecto missam Nasone salutem
accipe, pars animae magna, Severe, meae.
neve roga quid agam. si persequar omnia, flebis ;
summa satis nostri si 4 tibi nota mali.
5 vivimus assiduis expert es pacis in armis,
dura pharetrato bella movente Geta.
deque tot expulsis sum miles in exule solus :
tuta, neque invideo, cetera turba latet.
quoque magis nostros venia dignere libellos,
10 haec in procinctu carmina facta leges,
stat vetus urbs, ripae vicina binominis Histri,
moenibus et positu vix adeunda loci.
1 hie illic : sic Ehwald. ; punct. A. L. W.
2 causa vet causam corr. Purser
9 dari vel dati : datis Owen 4 sit
1 i.e. the house of your brother (Cotta Maxiinus).
2 Noblesse oblige.
304
EX PONTO, I. vii. 57— vin. 12
believe. Yet the other house1 did not experience my
attentions thus : in that I was constantly beneath
the protection of your common Lar, and such is your
loyalty that though he court not you in person, your
brother's friend has on you some claim. What too
of this that as thanks should be rendered to those who
have done service so it becomes your position to
deserve them ? 2 And if you permit us to advise what
you should desire, pray that you may give more than
you repay. This you are doing and, as I remember,
you used to be a source of attention because you gave
more yourself. In whatever class you will, Messa-
linus, place me, if only I be no alien member of
your household. As for Naso's misfortunes — since it
seems that he has deserved them — if you are not
grieved that he endures them, yet grieve that he has
deserved them.
VIII. To SEVERUS
Severus, my soul's larger part, receive the greeting
sent by Naso whom you used to love, nor ask how I
fare. Should I tell the whole tale, it will bring you
tears ; 'tis enough if you know the sum of my
misfortune. I live deprived of peace amid constant
strife while the quiver-bearing Getan rouses stern war.
Of so many exiled I alone am both exile and soldier ;
the rest — nor do I grudge it them — are safe in their
retirement. And that you may grant my work
greater indulgence, you will read here verses com-
posed on the field of battle. An old city3 lies hard
by the bank of Hister of the double name, scarce
accessible because of its walls and the site. Aegisos,
8 Aegisos, cf. Ex P. iv. 7. 21 and 53. The Danube had a
"double name": Hister and Danuvius.
X 305
OVID
Caspios Aegisos, de se si credimus ipsis,
condidit, et proprio nomine dixit opus.
15 hanc ferus, Odrysiis inopino Marte peremptis,
cepit et in regem sustulit arma Getes.
ille memor magni generis, virtute quod auget,
protinus innumero milite cinctus adest.
nee prius abscessit, merita quam caede nocentum
20 audaces animos contuderat l populi.2
at tibi, rex aevo, detur, fortissime nostro,
semper honorata sceptra tenere manu.
teque, quod et praestat — quid enim tibi plenius
optem ?
Martia cum magno Caesare Roma probet.
25 sed memor unde abii, queror, o iucunde sodalis,
accedant 3 nostris saeva quod arma malis.
ut careo vobis, Stygias 4 detrusus in oras,
quattuor autumnos Plei'as orta facit.
nee tu credideris urbanae commoda vitae
30 quaerere Nasonem, quaerit et ilia tamen.
nam modo vos animo dulces reminiscor, amici,
nunc mihi cum cara coniuge nata subit :
aque domo rursus pulchrae loca vertor ad urbis,
cunctaque mens oculis pervidet usa suis.
35 nunc fora, nunc aedes, nunc marmore tecta theatra,
nunc subit aequata porticus omnis humo.
gramina nunc Campi pulchros spectantis in hortos,
stagnaque et euripi Virgineusque liquor.
1 contuderit DC : corr. Riese 2 Versum om. AB
9 accedunt 4 scylhicas
306
EX PONTO, I. vni. 13-38
the Caspian, if we may believe the native tale,
founded it and gave it his own name. The wild
Getae took it after they had destroyed the Odrysii
in a warfare of surprise, and raised their arms against
the king. He, mindful of the mighty race which his
own valour enhances, at once approached with a
following of countless warriors. Nor did he depart
until with deserved slaughter of the guilty he beat
down the presumptuous spirit of the people. May
it be granted thee, bravest monarch of our time, ever
to sway the sceptre with thy honoured hand. Mayst
thou, even as she grants it now — for what fuller
prayer could I make for thee — find approval with
warlike Rome along with mighty Caesar.
25 But mindful of my beginning, my dear comrade,
I complain of the addition of cruel warfare to my
misfortunes. Since I have been separated from you,
thrust down to the very shores of the Styx, the rising
of the Pleiads is now bringing on the fourth autumn.
Yet believe not thou that 'tis the joys of city life
that Naso seeks — and yet even them he seeks — for
at times I have memories of you, my pleasant friends,
at times thoughts of my daughter and my dear wife
steal over me, and from my own house I am once
again visiting the localities of the beautiful town, my
mino^ surveying everything with eyes of its own.
Now the fora, now the temples, now the theatres
sheathed in marble, now every portico with its
levelled ground comes before me ; now the green-
sward of the Campus that looks towards the lovely
gardens, the pools, the canals, and the water of the
Virgo.1
1 The aqueduct Virgo, cf. Tr. iii. 12. 22.
307
OVID
at, puto, sic urbis misero est erepta voluptas,
40 quolibet ut saltern rure frui liceat !
non meus amissos animus desiderat agros,
ruraque Paeligno conspicienda solo,
nee quos piniferis positos in collibus hortos
spectat Flaminiae Clodia iuncta viae.
45 quos ego nescio cui colui, quibus ipse solebam
ad sata fontanas, nee pudet, adder e aquas :
sunt ubi,1 si vivunt, nostra quoque consita quaedam,
sed non et nostra poma legenda manu.
pro quibus amissis utinam contingere possit
60 hie saltern profugo glaeba colenda mihi !
ipse ego pendentis, liceat modo, rupe capellas,
ipse velim baculo pascere nixus oves ;
ipse ego, ne solitis insistant pectora curis,
ducam ruricolas sub iuga curva boves,
65 et discam Getici quae norunt verba iuvenci,
adsuetas illis acticiamque minas.
ipse manu capulum pressi moderatus aratri
experiar mota spargere semen humo.
nee dubitem longis purgare ligonibus herbas,
60 et dare iam sitiens quas bibat hortus aquas,
unde sed hoc nobis, minimum quos inter et hostem
discrimen murus clausaque porta facit ?
at tibi nascenti, quod toto pectore laetor,
nerunt fatales fortia fila deae.
65 te modo Campus habet, densa modo porticus umbra
nunc, in quo ponis tempora rara, forum.
Umbria nunc revocat, nee non Albana petentem
Appia ferventi ducit in arva rota.
1 ibi
1 Probably an estate near Alba.
308
EX PONTO, I. vni. 39-68
39 But, I suppose, the delights of the city have been
taken from me in my wretchedness in such fashion
that I may have at least what country joys I will !
It is not for the fields lost to me that my heart
longs, the fair lands in the Paelignian country, nor
for those gardens lying on the pine-clad hills which
the Clodian and Flaminian roads survey — them I
tilled for I know not whom, in them I used in person
to guide (nor am I ashamed to say it) the spring
water upon the plants ; somewhere, if they still
live, there are certain trees also planted by my hand,
but never is my hand destined to gather their fruit.
For all these losses would that it could be my lot
even here to have in my exile a plot to till ! I would
in person, if only I might, pasture the goats as they
hang upon the crags, I would pasture the sheep as I
leaned upon my staff ; that my breast might not
dwTell upon its usual cares I would myself lead the
plough - oxen beneath the curving yoke, teaching
myself the words which the Getic bullocks know,
hurling at them the familiar threats. In person
would I control the handle of the down-pressed
plough and try to scatter seed in the furrowed earth.
I would not shrink from clearing away the weeds
with the long hoe and supplying the water for the
thirsty garden to drink. But whence shall all this
come to me between whom and the enemy there is
only the breadth of a wall and a closed gate ? For
you at birth — my whole heart rejoices at this — the
fateful goddesses spun strong threads. You may
stroll now in the Campus, now in the dusky shade of
some portico, now in the forum, though you spend but
little time there ; Umbria now calls you home, or as
you seek your Albana,1 the Appian road takes you
309
OVID
forsitan hie optes, ut iustam supprimat iram
70 Caesar, et hospitium sit tua villa meum.
a ! nimium est, quod, amice, petis : moderatius opta,
et voti quaeso contrahe vela tui.
terra velim propior nullique obnoxia bello
detur : erit l nostris pars bona dempta malis.
IX.
Quae mihi de rapto tua 2 venit epistula Celso,
protinus est lacrimis umida facta meis ;
quodque nefas dictu, fieri nee posse putavi,
invitis oculis littera lecta tua est.
6 nee quicquam ad nostras pervenit acerbius aures,
ut sumus in Ponto, perveniatque precor.
ante meos oculos tamquam praesentis imago
haeret, et extinctum vivere fmgit amor,
saepe refert animus lusus gravitate carentes,
10 seria cum liquida saepe peracta fide.
nulla tamen subeunt mihi tempora densius illis,
quae vellem vitae summa fuisse meae,
cum domus ingenti subito mea lapsa ruina
concidit in domini procubuitque caput.
15 adfuit ille mihi, cum me pars magna reliquit,
Maxime, fortunae nee fuit ipse comes,
ilium ego non aliter flentem mea funera3 vidi,
ponendus quam si frater in igne foret.
haesit in amplexu consolatusque iacentem est,
20 cumque meis lacrimis miscuit usque suas.
o quotiens vitae custos invisus amarae
continuit promptas in mea fata manus !
1 erat 2 tua] nunc 8 vulnera
310
EX PONTO, I. vra. 69— ix. 22
to the country on glowing wheels. There perchance
you may wish that Caesar would abate his just wrath
and that your villa may entertain me. Alas ! 'tis
too much that you ask, my friend ; utter a more
modest wish, furl the sails of your prayer, I beg.
My wish is for a land nearer home, one not exposed
to war ; then a large part of my woes will be
removed.
IX. To MAXIMUS
Your letter with its news of Celsus* death was
forthwith wetted by my tears : and though 'tis an
impious thing to say and, as I thought, impossible, a
letter of yours was read with unwilling eyes. No-
thing more grievous has reached my ears since I have
been in the Pontus, and I pray that nothing more
bitter will come. His image lingers before my eyes
as if he were present ; he is gone, but love imagines
him still alive. Often my heart recalls his gaiety
freed from solemnity, often his serious tasks per-
formed with transparent fidelity. But no hours come
to my mind more frequently than those — would they
had been the latest of my life — when my house on a
sudden collapsed in utter ruin and fell upon its
master's head. He stood by me when the greater
part abandoned me, Maximus, and when he was not a
partner in my fate. I saw him weeping my death as
if perforce he had to lay his own brother in the flames.
He clung to my embrace, he consoled me as I lay
prostrate, he mingled his tears constantly with mine.
How often did he, the then hated guardian of my
bitter life, check the hands ready to bring about my
311
OVID
o quotiens dixit " placabilis ira deorum est :
vive nee ignosci tu tibi posse nega " !
25 vox tamen ilia fuit celeberrima, " respice, quantum
debeat auxilium Maximus esse tibi.
Maximus incumbet, quaque est pietate, rogabit,
ne sit ad extremum Caesaris ira tenax ;
cumque suis fratris vires adhibebit, et omnem,
30 quo levius doleas, experietur opem."
haec mihi verba malae minuerunt taedia vitae.
quae tu ne fuerint, Maxime, vana cave,
hue quoque venturum mihi se iurare solebat
non nisi te longae ius sibi dante viae.
35 nam tua non alio coluit penetralia ritu,
terrarum dominos quam colis ipse deos.
crede mihi, multos habeas cum dignus amicos,
non fuit e multis quolibet ille minor,
si modo non census nee clarum nomen avorum
40 sed probitas magnos ingeniumque facit.
iure igitur lacrimas Celso libamus adempto.
cum fugerem, vivo quas dedit ille mihi :
carmina iure damus raros testantia mores,
ut tua venturi nomina, Celse, legant.
45 hoc est, quod possum l Geticis tibi mittere ab arvis
hoc solum est istic quod licet esse meum.
funera non potui comitare nee ungere corpus,
aque tuis toto dividor orbe rogis.
qui potuit, quern tu pro numine vivus habebas,
50 praestitit officium Maximus omne tibi.
ille tibi exequias et magni funus honoris
fecit et in gelidos versit 2 amoma sinus,
1 possim 8 vertit corr. Heinsiua
812
EX PONTO, I. ix. 23-52
death ! How often did he say, " The wrath of the
gods may be appeased. Live, and do not say that
you cannot be pardoned " ! But his most frequent
words were, " Think how great a help Maximus
ought to be to you. Maximus will make every effort
and, such is his loyalty, will beg that Caesar's wrath
persist not to the end. Together with his own
power he will employ that of his brother ; he will try
every resource to lighten your pain."
31 These words diminished the weariness I felt in my
unfortunate life. Maximus, see to it that they were
not empty. He was wont to swear that he would
come to me even here and that no other but your-
self would afford him the right to make the long
journey. For he revered your house not otherwise
than you worship the gods who are lords of the world.
Believe me, although you possess deservedly many
friends, he was in no degree inferior to any of them,
if only 'tis true that not property nor the illustrious
names of ancestors, but uprightness and character
render men great.
41 Rightly then do I grant the meed of tears to
Celsus dead which he granted to me in life as I set
forth to exile. Rightly do I bestow verses bearing
witness to a rare character that those about to come
may read of thy name, Celsus. This is all that I can
send thee from the Getic land, this is the only thing
there that I may have for mine own. I had not the
power to follow thy funeral or anoint thy body : I am
separated by the whole world from thy tomb. He
who had the power, that Maximus whom thou didst
in life regard as a god, bestowed upon thee every
service. He conducted for thee a funeral with
ceremonials of great honour, pouring the balsam upon
813
OVID
diluit et lacrimis maerens unguenta profusis
ossaque vicina condita texit humo.
65 qui quoniam extinctis, quae debet, praestat amicis,
et nos extinctis adnumerare potest.
X.
Naso suo profugus mittit tibi, Flacce, salutem,
mittere rem siquis, qua caret ipse, potest.
longus enim curis vitiatum corpus amaris
non patitur vires languor habere suas.
6 nee dolor ullus adest, nee febribus uror anhelis,
et peragit soliti vena tenoris iter.
os hebes est positaeque movent fastidia mensae,
et queror, invisi cum venit bora cibi.
quod mare, quod tellus, adpone quod educat aer,
10 nil ibi, quod nobis esuriatur, erit.
nectar et ambrosiam, latices epulasque deorum,
det mihi formosa nava l luventa manu,
non tanien exacuet torpens sapor ille palatum,
stabit et in stomacho pondus inerte diu.
15 haec ego non ausim, cum sint verissima, cuivis
scribere, delicias ne mala nostra vocet.
scilicet is status est, ea rerum forma mearum,
deliciis etiam possit ut esse locus !
delicias illi precor has contingere, siquis
20 ne mihi sit levior Caesaris ira timet.
is quoque, qui gracili cibus est in corpore, somnus,
non alit officio corpus inane suo.
sed vigilo vigilantque mei sine fine dolores,
quorum materiam dat locus ipse mihi.
1 nava] grata
1 i.e. show me the same devotion which in my case may
result in help. , * Hebe.
EX PONTO, I. ix. 53— x. 24
thy cold breast . In grief he mingled with the unguents
falling tears, laying thy bones to rest in the protec-
tion of neighbouring ground. He, since to dead
friends he pays the debt he owes, may reckon me
also with the dead.1
X. To FLACCUS
Exiled Naso sends you a " Health/* Flaccus, if one
can send a thing that he himself lacks. For long
continued lassitude has impaired my frame with
bitter cares and suffers it not to possess its proper
strength. I have no pain, I do not burn and gasp
with fever, my pulse continues its normal beat. But
my mouth lacks taste, I feel aversion for the courses
set before me, and complain whenever the hour for
hateful eating comes. Serve me with any product
of sea or land or air ; nothing will excite my hunger.
Let nectar and ambrosia, the food and drink of the
gods, be offered me by the shapely hand of busy
Juventas,2 yet that savour will not stimulate my
sluggish palate and a weight will long remain in
my inactive stomach.
15 All this I should not venture to write to every-
body, despite its truth, lest he should term my woes
mere daintiness. Such in sooth is my condition, such
is the nature of my circumstances that there is even
the possibility of being dainty ! I pray such daintiness
as this may be the lot of any who fears that Caesar's
wrath may rest too lightly upon me !
21 Even that sleep which is food to a slender frame
does not support as it should my impoverished body,
but I am wakeful, my endless woes are wakeful too,
for the place in which I am supplies them with
315
OVID
25 vix igitur possis visos agnoscere vultus,
quoque ierit quaeras qui fuit ante color,
parvus in exiles sucus mihi pervenit artus,
membraque sunt cera pallidiora nova,
non haec inmodico contraxi damna Lyaeo :
30 scis mihi quam solae paene bibantur aquae,
non epulis oneror : quarum si tangar amore,
est tamen in Geticis copia nulla locis.
nee vires adimit Veneris damnosa voluptas :
non solet in maestos ilia venire toros.
35 unda locusque nocent et causa valentior istis,
anxietas animi, quae mihi semper adest.
haec nisi tu pariter simili cum fratre levares,
vix mens tristitiae nostra tulisset onus,
vos estis fracto tellus non dura phaselo,
40 quamque negant multi, vos mihi fertis opem.
ferte, precor, semper, quia semper egebimus ilia,
Caesaris offensum dum mihi numen erit.
qui meritam nobis minuat, non finiat, iram,
suppliciter vestros quisque rogate deos.
316
EX PONTO, I. x.
material. Scarce could you recognize my features
should you see them, and you would ask what has
become of my former colour. But little vigour
pervades my emaciated limbs ; I am paler than
fresh wax. These troubles I have not brought upon
myself by immoderate drinking — you know that
water is almost my only drink — nor do I overload
myself with food ; even if I had a passion for it,
there is no opportunity in the Getic country. My
strength is not impaired by Venus* ruinous passion ;
she is not wont to approach the couch of sorrow.
Tis the water and the country that injure me to-
gether with a cause still stronger — the mental worry
which ever attends me.
37 Unless you and, like you, your brother were miti-
gating these woes, scarce would my mind have borne
the burden of my sorrow. You are like a kindly
land to a shattered boat ; you bring me the aid
which many deny. Give it me always, I beseech you,
for I shall always need it as long as divine Caesar
shall feel anger against me. That he may lessen,
not end, his deserved wrath, let each of you as sup-
pliants implore your gods.
317
LIBER SECUNDUS
I.
Hue quoque Caesarei pervenit fama triumphi,
languida quo fessi vix venit aura Noti.
nil fore dulce mihi Scythica regione putavi :
iam minus hie odio est, quam fuit ante, locus.
6 tandem aliquid pulsa curarum nube serenum
vidi, fortunae verba dedique meae.
nolit ut ulla l mihi contingere gaudia Caesar,
velle potest cuivis haec tamen una dari.
di quoque, ut a cunctis hilari pietate colantur,
10 tristitiam poni per sua festa iubent.
denique, quod certus furor est audere fateri,
hac ego laetitia, si vetet ipse, fruar.
luppiter utilibus quotiens iuvat imbribus agros,
mixta tenax segeti crescere lappa solet.
16 nos quoque frugiferum sentimus inutilis herba
numen, et invita saepe iuvamur ope.
gaudia Caesareae mentis pro parte virili
sunt mea : privati nil habet ilia domus.
gratia, Fama, tibi, per quam spectata triumphi
20 incluso mediis est mihi pompa Getis.
1 noluit ilia
1 Germanicus won the triumphal insignia (with Tiberius)
318
BOOK II
I. To GERMANICUS CAESAR
Even to this place has the fame of Caesar's triumph1
penetrated, whither scarce comes the weak breath
of weary Notus. No pleasant news have I ever
looked for in the Scythian land, but now this place
is less hateful than it was before. At last the clouds
of care have burst asunder and I have glimpsed a bit
of clear sky ; I have cheated my fate. E'en though
Caesar may be unwilling that any joys befall me, yet
this one joy it may be he wishes to have granted to
everybody. Even the gods, to secure joyous worship
from all, command men to lay aside sorrow through-
out their feast days. In fine, though 'tis outright
madness to dare the confession, this is a joy that I
would make my own were he in person to forbid it.
13 Whenever Jupiter floods the fields with helpful
showers the tough burs are wont to grow mingled
with the crops. I, too, useless weed though I am,
feel the fructifying power, and am often benefited
against his will. The joys of Caesar's heart are mine
to the extent of my capacity ; that house has nothing
that is private. Thanks, Fame, to thee through
whom I, prisoned among the Getae, have seen the
against the Dalmatians, A.D. 9, but the actual celebration
was postponed because of the defeat of Varus.
319
OVID
indice te didici, nuper visenda coisse
innumeras gentes ad duels ora sui :
quaeque capit vastis inmensum moenibus orbem,
hospitiis Romam vix habuisse locum.
25 tu mihi narrasti, cum multis lucibus ante
fuderit assiduas nubilus Auster aquas,
numine caelesti solem fulsisse serenum,
cum populi vultu conveniente die,
atque ita victorem cum magnae vocis honore
30 bellica laudatis dona dedisse viris,
claraque sumpturum pictas insignia vestes
tura prius sanctis inposuisse focis,
iustitiamque sui caste 1 placasse parentis,
illo quae 2 templum pectore semper habet,
36 quaque ierit felix adiectum plausibus omen,
saxaque roratis erubuisse rosis ;
protinus argento versos imitantia muros
barbara cum pictis 3 oppida lata viris,
fluminaque et montes et in altis proelia4 silvis,
40 armaque cum telis in strue mixta sua,
deque tropaeorum, quod sol incenderit,6 auro
aurea Romani tecta fuisse fori,
totque tulisse duces captivis 6 addita coin's
vincula, paene hostis quot satis esse fuit.
45 maxima pars horum vitam veniamque tulerunt,
in quibus et belli summa caputque Bato.7
cur ego posse negem minui mihi numinis iram,
cum videam mitis hostibus esse deos ?
pertulit hie idem nobis, Germanice, rumor,
50 oppida sub titulo nominis isse 8 tui .
1 castae vel castos vel iustos corr. Scaliger a quo corr. Seal.
8 victis * proelia Merkel] proflua vel pascua
5 incenderet vel incenderat : incenderit r
a captives ; captivis <r ' Bato] fuit vel tenet 8 esse
320
EX PONTO, II. i. 21-50
splendour of the triumph. By thy evidence I learned
that recently countless races assembled to see their
leader's face ; and Rome, that embraces the measure-
less world within her vast walls, scarce had room for
her guests. Thou didst tell me how, though for
many days before the cloudy Auster poured forth
constant rain, the sun through heavenly power shone
bright, the day matching the looks of the people ;
how the victor, honouring them with a loud voice,
bestowed the warlike gifts upon the heroes he
praised ; how as he was about to don the em-
broidered vestments, the marks of glory, first he
sprinkled incense on the sacred hearth, appeasing in
purity the justice of his father which ever has a
shrine in that breast ; how wherever he went, he
received the happy omen of applause and the pave-
ment blushed with dewy roses. Before him, silver
counterparts of the conquered walls, barbarian towns
were carried with pictured men upon them, rivers
and mountains and battles in deep forests, shields and
spears in a confused pile, and from the gold of the
trophies kindled by the sun, the buildings of the
Roman forum turned to gold. So many chieftains
bore chains upon their vanquished necks that they
could almost suffice to be the enemy. The greater
part received life and pardon, among them even Bato,
head and front of the war. Why should / deny that
for rne the wrath of the deity cannot diminish when
I see the gods merciful to an enemy ?
49 The same report told rne, Germanicus, that
towns 1 moved on under the title of thy name ; that
1 Models or " floats " representing the towns. See
note on Tr. iv. 2. 37.
Y 321
OVID
atque ea te contra nee muri mole nee armis
nee satis ingenio tuta fuisse loci,
di tibi dent annos, a te nam cetera sumes,
sint modo virtu ti tempora longa tuae.
65 quod precor, eveniet : sunt quiddam l oracula vatum :
nam deus optanti prospera signa dedit.
te quoque victorem Tarpeias scandere in arces
laeta coronatis Roma videbit equis ;
maturosque pater nati spectabit honores,
60 gaudia percipiens, quae dedit ipse suis.
iam nunc haec a me, iuvenum belloque togaque
maxime, dicta tibi vaticinante nota.
hunc quoque carminibus referam fortasse triumphum,
sufficiet nostris si modo vita malis,
65 imbuero Scythicas si non prius ipse sagittas,
abstuleritque ferox hoc caput ense Getes.
quae si me salvo dabitur tua laurea templis,
omina bis dices vera fuisse mea.
II.
Ille domus vestrae primis venerator ab annis,
pulsus ad Euxini Naso sinistra freti,
mittit ab indomitis hanc, Messab'ne, salutem,
quam solitus praesens est tibi ferre, Getis.
6 ei mihi, si2 lecto vultus tibi nomine non est
qui fuit, et dubitas cetera perlegere !
perlege, nee mecum pariter mea verba relega :
urbe licet vestra versibus esse meis.
non ego concepi, si Pelion Ossa tulisset,
10 clara mea tangi sidera posse manu,
1 quaedam corr. Heinsius 2 si] quid
1 This prophecy was fulfilled A.D. 18, when Germanicus
triumphed over the Germans.
322
EX PONTO, II. i. 51—11. 10
against thee they had been secure neither by massive
walls nor arms nor skilful site. Gods grant thee
years ! Thou thyself wilt supply all else, so but time
enough be vouchsafed thy worth. My prayer shall
be fulfilled ; the prophecies of poets are of some
worth, for the god has given favourable sign in answer
to my prayer. Thou too shalt climb as victor l the
Tarpeian citadel, a joyful sight for Rome, with gar-
landed steeds. Thy father shall see the ripe honours
of his son, himself feeling the joy that he has given
to his own. Even now, greatest of our youth in
war and peace, mark these words of prophecy from
me. That triumph also perchance I shall relate in
song if only my life proves equal to my misfortunes,
if 1 do not first stain Scythian arrows with my blood,
if a fierce Getan does not take life from me with the
sword. In my lifetime should thy laurel be dedicated
in the temple thou wilt say that my prophecies have
twice a come true.
II. To MESSALINUS
He who revered your house from his earliest years,
Naso, the exile on Euxine's left-hand shore,3 sends to
you, Messalinus, from the land of the unconquered
Getae this greeting which he used to offer face to
face. Alas ! if at the reading of his name you have
not the countenance you had of old and hesitate to
read what remains. Yet read to the end, nor banish
my words along with myself ; my verses are per-
mitted to dwell in your city. I never imagined that
should Ossa uphold Pelion, my hand could touch the
2 i.e. Germanicus' triumph and the poet's promised eulogy,
cf. v. 63. 3 Cf. Tr. iv. 1. 60 n.
323
OVID
nee nos Enceladi dementia castra secuti
in rerum dominos movimus arma deos,
nee, quod Tydidae temeraria dextera fecit,
numina sunt telis ulla petita meis.
15 est mea culpa gravis, sed quae me perdere solum
ausa sit, et nullum maius adorta nefas.
nil nisi non sapiens possum timidusque vocari :
haec duo sunt animi nomina vera mei.
esse quidem fateor meritam post Caesaris iram
20 difficilem precibus te quoque iure meis ;
quaeque tua est pietas in totum nomen luli,
te laedi, cum quis laeditur inde, putas.
sed licet arma feras et vulnera saeva mineris,
non tamen efficies ut timeare mihi.
25 puppis Achaemeniden Graium Troiana recepit,
profuit et Myso Pelias hasta duci.
confugit interdum templi violator ad aram,
nee petere offensi numinis horret opem.
dixerit hoc aliquis tutum non esse. fatemur.
30 sed non per placidas it mea puppis aquas.
tuta petant alii : fortuna miserrima tuta est,
nam timor eventus l deterioris abest.
qui rapitur spumante salo, sua brachia tendens
porrigit ad spinas duraque saxa manus, 2
35 accipitremque timens 3 pennis trepidantibus ales
audet ad humanos fessa venire sinus,
nee se vicino dubitat committere tecto,
quae fugit infestos territa cerva canes.
da, precor, accessum lacrimis, mitissime, nostris,
40 nee rigidam timidis vocibus obde for em,
eventu z Vv. 33-34 nic T : corrupti in A cett.
3 accipitrem metuens
324
EX PONTO, II. n. 11-40
bright stars ; I have not joined the mad camp of
Enceladus and aroused war against the gods who rule
the world ; I have not, like the rash hand of Tydeus'
son,1 aimed my spear against the gods. My fault is
heavy, but 'tis one which has dared to destroy me
alone, attempting no greater crime. No term save
" senseless " and " timid " can be applied to me ;
these are the two true words for my soul. It is
indeed, I admit, after I deserved Caesar's anger,
with justice that you are hard to my entreaties ;
such is your devotion to all of the lulean 2 name that
you are injured too if you think any of them is
injured. But though you take arms and threaten
me with cruel wounds, yet will you not make me
fear you. The ship of a Trojan succoured Achae-
menides, Greek though he was ; the Pelian spear
helped the My si an chieftain.3 Sometimes the
violator of a temple takes refuge at the altar, not
dreading to seek the aid of the angered god. Some-
one may say this is not safe. I admit it ; but it is not
through calm waters that my bark sails. Let safety
be the quest of others ; uttermost misery is safe, for
it lacks fear of an outcome still worse. One who is
being hurried along by the foaming sea stretches out
his arms and grasps at thorns and hard rocks ; in
fear of the hawk a bird on trembling wings ventures
in weariness to come to man's protection ; the doe
hesitates not to trust herself to a house hard by when
she flees in terror from her enemies, the hounds.
29 Grant, I beseech you, gentle friend, comfort to
my tears, shut not an unyielding door upon my timid
1 Diomed, who wounded both Mars and Venus.
2 The Julii claimed descent from lulus, son of Aeneas.
3 Telephus.
325
OVID
verbaque nostra favens Romana ad numina perfer,
non tibi Tarpeio culta Tonante minus,
mandatique mei legatus suscipe causam :
nulla meo quamvis nomine causa bona est.
45 iam prope depositus, certe iam frigidus aeger,
servatus per te, si modo server, ero.
nunc tua pro lassis nitatur gratia rebus,
principis aeterni quam tibi praestat amor,
nunc tibi et eloquii nitor ille domesticus adsit,
60 quo poteras trepidis utilis esse reis.
vivit enim in vobis facundi lingua parentis,
et res hcredem repperit ilia suum.
hanc ego, non ut me defendere temptet, adoro :
non est confessi causa tuenda rei.
65 num tamen excuses erroris origine factum,
an nihil expediat tale movere, vide,
vulneris id genus est quod, cum sanabile non sit,
non contrectari tutius esse puto.
lingua, sile ! non est ultra narrabile quicquam.
60 posse velim cineres obruere ipse meos.
sic igitur, quasi me nullus deceperit error,
verba fac, ut vita, quam dedit ipse,1 fruar ;
cumque serenus erit vultusque remiserit illos,
qui secum terras imperiumque movent,
C5 exiguam ne me praedam sinat esse Getarum,
detque solum miserae mite, precare, fugae.
tempus adest aptum precibus. valet ille videtque
quas fecit vires, Roma, valere tuas.
incolumis 2 coniunx sua pulvinaria servat ;
70 promovet Ausonium filius imperium ;
1 ipse] ille 2 incolumi
326
EX PONTO, II. ii. 41-70
pica, favour me and carry my words to the Roman
gods whom you worship no less than the Tarpeian
thunderer ; be the envoy of my message and under-
take my cause, though no cause in my name is good.
Already nearly dead, at least a sick man who already
feels death's chill, I shall be saved by you if only I am
saved at all. Now in behalf of weakness let that
influence struggle which the love of the eternal
Prince bestows upon you. Now employ the brilliant
eloquence of your house with which you have been
able to bring aid to trembling accused. For in you
both l lives the eloquent tongue of your father, which
has found in you its heir. To this I turn, not that it
may try to defend me ; one should not defend the
cause of an accused who makes confession. Yet
consider whether you may palliate my act through
the source of my mistake or if it would be well to stir
up no such matter. The wound is of such sort that,
since it is past healing, I deem it safer that it be not
touched. Silence, tongue ! Nothing further can be
told ! Would I could bury my own ashes !
61 So then, as if I had been beguiled by no mistake,
frame your plea that I may enjoy the life he granted
me. When he is serene, when there is peace upon
those lineaments whose motion stirs the empire and
the world, beg him not to permit me to be a poor
spoil for the Getae, to grant a peaceful land for
my wretched exile. A fitting time is at hand for
petitions : well is he and well, he sees, is it with
the work of his hands — thy strength, O Rome. In
safety his consort guards her divine couch ; his son 2
is pushing out the bounds of the Ausonian empire ;
1 i.e. Messalinus and his brother Cotta Maximus.
2 Tiberius.
327
OVID
praeterit ipse suos animo Germanicus annos,
nee vigor est Drusi nobilitate minor,
adde nurus l neptesque pias natosque nepotuin
ceteraque Augustae membra valere domus ;
76 adde triumphatos modo Paeonas, adde quieti
subdita montanae brachia Dalmatiae.
nee dedignata est abiectis Illyris armis
Caesar eum famulo vertice ferre pedem.
ipse super currum placido spectabilis ore
80 tempora Phoebea virgine nexa tulit.
quern pia vobiscum proles comitavit euntem,
digna parente suo nominibusque datis,
fratribus adsimiles,2 quos proxima templa tenentis
divus ab excelsa lulius aede videt.
85 his Messalinus, quibus omnia cedere debent,
primum laetitiae non negat esse locum,
quicquid ab his superest, venit in certamen arnoris :
hac hominum nulli parte secundus erit.
hanc colet ante diem qua, quae 3 decreta merenti,
90 venit honoratis laurea digna comis.
felices, quibus, o,4 licuit spectare triumphos
et ducis ore deos aequiperante frui !
at mihi Sauromatae pro Caesaris ore videndi
terraque pads inops undaque vincta6 gelu.
95 si tamen haec audis et vox mea pervenit istuc,6
sit tua mutando gratia blanda loco.
1 nurum 2 ad&imilis
8 quamque vel qua quam (quamquam) : qua quae Owen
* o] hos 6 iuncta 6 illuc, sed cf. istae A
1 Drusus, son of Tiberius.
8 Nurus neptesque is a general expression for the youngei
women of the imperial house, especially Agrippina anc
Livilla. Augustus had no son of his own, ana the onlj
person who at this time could in any sense be called hii
328
EX PONTO, II. n. 71-96
the spirit of Germanicus outruns his years, and the
energy of Drusus l is not unequal to his noble birth.
Add too that his daughters-in-law,2 his loyal grand-
daughters, the sons of his grandsons — all the members
of the Augustan house — are well. Add the triumph
over Paeonia,3 add the right arms of mountainous
Dalmatia constrained to peace. Illyria has not dis-
dained to throw aside her arms and submit her
enslaved head to a Caesar's foot. He himself,4 con-
spicuous with calm aspect in his car, bore his temples
garlanded by Phoebus' maid.5 His loyal sons6 in your7
company attended him as he advanced, worthy of
their parent and of the names conferred upon them,
like unto the brethren 8 dwelling in the neighbouring
temple whom the divine Julius beholds from his lofty
shrine. To these 9 to whom all things ought to yield
Messalinus refuses not the foremost place in rejoic-
ing : all that these do not claim is matter for affec-
tion's rivalry ; therein to no man will he take second
place. Before all else he will venerate this day on
which the laurel decreed for merit has been worthily
placed upon honoured locks.
91 Oh happy they to whom it has been vouchsafed
to view the triumph, to enjoy the godlike countenance
of the general ! But I must gaze upon the Sauromatae
in place of Caesar's face, upon a land devoid of
peace, and waters in the bonds of frost. Yet if you
hear my words, if my voice can reach so far, let your
winning influence work to change my abode. This is
daughter-in-law was Antonia, the widow of his stepson
Drusus. 3 i.e. Pannonia.
4 Tiberius, the Caesar just mentioned. 5 Daphne, the laurel.
0 Germanicus (adopted son) and Drusus.
7 i.e. Messalinus and Cotta Maximus, cf. 1. 51.
8 Castor and Pollux. 9 i.e. the emperor and his house.
329
OVID
hoc pater ille tuus primo mihi cultus ah aevo,
siquid habet sensus umbra diserta, petit,
hoc petit et frater, quamvis fortasse veretur
100 servandi noceat ne tibi cura mei.
tota domus rogat hoc, nee tu potes ipse negare
et nos in turbae parte fuisse tuae.
ingenii certe, quo nos male sensimus usos,
Artibus exceptis, saepe probator eras.
105 nee mea, si tantum peccata novissima demas,
esse potest domui vita pudenda tuae.
sic igitur vestrae vigeant penetralia gentis,
curaque sit superis Caesaribusque tui :
mite, sed iratum merito mihi, nurnen adora,
110 eximat x ut Scythici me 2 feritate loci.
difficile est, fateor, sed tendit in ardua virtus,
et talis meriti gratia maior erit.
nee tamen Aetnaeus vasto Polyphemus in antro
accipiet voces Antiphatesve tuas,
115 sed placidus facilisque parens veniaeque paratus,
et qui fulmineo saepe sine igne tonat.
qui cum triste aliquid statuit, fit tristis et ipse,
cuique fere poenam sumere poena sua est.
victa tamen vitio est huius dementia nostro,
120 venit et ad vires ira coacta suas.
qui quoniam patria toto sumus orbe remoti,
nee licet ante ipsos procubuisse deos,
quos colis, ad superos haec fer mandata sacerdos,
adde sed et proprias ad mea verba preces.
125 sic tamen haec tempta, si non nocitura putabis.
ignosces. timeo naufragus omne fretum.
1 eximar 2 me ow. : add. S~
330
EX PONTO, II. n. 97-126
the request of your famed father whom I worshipped
from my earliest youth, if his shade, still eloquent,
has aught of sentience. This is the request of your
brother too, though perchance he may fear that care
in saving me may bring you harm. All your house
ask this, nor can you yourself say that I too was not
once a member of your throng. At least my talent,
which, as I have learned to feel, I have used but ill,
was oft, except only my " Art/' the subject of your
praise. Nor can my life, so you but take away its
latest sins, bring shame upon your house. So,
therefore, may the home of your race thrive, so may
those above, together with the Caesars, watch over you
— on condition that you implore that deity, so merci-
ful yet justly angry with me, to remove me from the
wildness of the Scythian land. Tis hard, I admit,
yet virtue aims at what is hard, and gratitude for
such a service will be all the greater. No Poly-
phemus in the lonely caverns of Aetna, no Anti-
phates will receive your words, but a calm and lenient
father ready to pardon, who often thunders without
the aid of the fiery lightning, who after a harsh
decision is himself saddened, who usually lays a
penalty upon himself whenever he exacts one. Yet
his mercy was defeated by my fault, his wrath by
compulsion reached its full strength. But I am
separated from my country by the whole wrorld's
span, 1 cannot throw myself before the deity's feet.
You worship him : be my priest and carry to him my
message, but add your own prayers to my words.
Yet try this only if you feel it will not injure me.
Pardon ! I am a shipwrecked man who fears every
sea.
331
OVID
III.
Maxime, qui claris nomen virtu tibus aequas,
nee sinis ingenium nobilitate premi,
culte mihi — quid enim status hie a funere differt
supremum vitae tempus adusque meae,
6 rem facis, afflictum non aversatus amicum,
qua non est aevo rarior ulla tuo.
turpe quidem dictu, sed, si modo vera fatemur,
vulgus amicitias utilitate probat.
cura,quid expediat,prius est,quam quid sit honestum,
10 et cum fortuna statque caditque fides,
nee facile invenias 1 multis in milibus unum,
virtutem pretium qui putet esse sui.
ipse decor, recte facti si praemia desint,
non movet, et gratis paenitet esse probum.
15 nil 2 nisi quod prodest carum est : sed 3 detrahe menti
spem fructus avidae, nemo petendus erit.
at reditus iam quisque suos amat, et sibi quid sit
utile, sollicitis supputat articulis.
illud amicitiae quondam venerabile numen 4
20 prostat et in quaestu pro meretrice sedet.
quo magis admiror, non, ut torrentibus undis,
communis vitii te quoque labe trahi.
diligitur nemo, nisi cui fortuna secunda est :
quae, simul intonuit, proxima quaeque fugat.
25 en ego, non paucis quondam munitus amicis,
dum flavit velis aura secunda meis,
ut fera nimboso tumuerunt aequora vento,
in mediis lacera nave relinquor aquis ;
cumque alii nolint etiam me nosse videri,
30 vix duo proiecto tresve tulistis opem.
332
1 invenies 2 nil] et
3 sed] si vel et vel en 4 nomen
EX PONTO, II. in. 1-30
III. To MAXIMUS
Maximus, you who match your name with illus-
trious virtues nor permit your nature to be eclipsed by
your noble birth, I have revered you — for in what does
my condition differ from death ? — even unto my life's
latest day. In not disowning an unfortunate friend
you perform an act than which none is rarer in the
age in which you live. Shameful it is to say, yet
the common herd, if only we admit the truth, value
friendships by their profit. They care more for
advantage than for honour, and their loyalty stands
or falls with fortune : nor can one easily find among
many thousands a single man who considers virtue
its own reward. The very glory of a good deed, if it
lacks rewards, affects men not ; unrewarded upright-
ness brings them regret. Nothing but profit is
prized ; only take from the greedy mind hope of gain
and nobody will be the object of attentions. Nowa-
days everybody loves his own income and reckons on
anxious fingers what is of service to himself. That
once revered goddess of friendship is exposed for sale,
awaiting gain like a courtesan.
21 So my admiration is the greater that you too are
not carried away, as by a torrent, by the corruption of
a common vice. There is love for none except him
whom fortune favours ; when once she thunders she
puts all around to flight. Behold me ! once sup-
ported by many friends — while a favouring breeze
filled my sails — now that the wild seas have been
swelled by the stormy wind, I am abandoned on a
shattered bark in the midst of the waters. While
others would not even seem to know me, there were
but two or three of you who aided me when I was
333
OVID
quorum tu princeps. neque enim comes esse, sed
auctor,
nee petere exemplum, sed dare dignus eras,
te, nihil exactos1 nisi nos2 peccasse fatentem,
sponte sua probitas officiumque iuvat.
35 iudice te mercede caret per seque petenda est
externis virtus incomitata bonis.
turpe putas abigi,3 quia sit miserandus, amicum,
quodque sit infelix, desinere esse tuum.
mitius est lasso digitum supponere mento,
40 mergere quam liquidis ora natantis aquis.
cerne quid Aeacides post mortem praestet amico :
instar et hanc vitam mortis habere puta.
Pirithoum Theseus Stygias comitavit ad undas :
a Stygia quantum mors mea distat aqua ?
45 adfuit insano iuvenis Phoceus Orestae :
et mea non minimum culpa furoris habet.
tu quoque magnorum laudes admitte virorum,
ut facis,4 et lapso quam potes after opem.
si bene te novi, si, qui5 prius esse solebas,
50 nunc quoque es, atque animi non cecidere tui,
quo Fortuna magis saevit, magis ipse resistis,
utque decet, ne te vicerit ilia, caves ;
et bene uti pugnes, bene pugnans efficit hostis.
sic eadem prodest causa nocetque mihi.
55 scilicet indignum, iuvenis carissime, ducis
te fieri comitem stantis in orbe deae.
firmus es, et quoniam non sunt ea, qualia velles,
vela regis quassae qualiacumque ratis.
1 ex acto : exactos Ehwald z nos] non ve I vos
3 abici 4 utque facis (et om.)
* qui, cf. quid A] quis: quod £~
334
EX PONTO, II. m. 31-58
cast forth. And you were foremost ; for you were
suited not to be their comrade, but their leader, not
to seek an example, but to offer one. You who admit
that I, the exiled one, did naught but " err," take
pleasure in uprightness and duty for their own sakes.
In your judgment worth is dissevered from reward
and is to be sought for herself, even unaccompanied
by outward goods. You think it base to drive away
a friend because he is to be pitied, to forbid him your
friendship because he is ill-starred. Tis more merci-
ful to support his weary chin even with a finger than
to thrust the swimmer's face beneath the clear waves.
41 See what the scion T of Aeacus does for his friend 2
after death, and remember that this life of mine also
is like unto death ! Pirithous had Theseus' company
to the waves of the Styx ; how far is my death from
the Stygian water ? Crazed Orestes was helped by
the Phocean youth 3 ; my fault too involves no little
madness. Do you also accept the praise meet for
mighty heroes, as you are doing, and bring what aid
you can to one who is fallen. If I know you well, if
even now you are what you used to be, and your
courage has not failed you, the greater Fortune's
rage, the more do you resist her, taking care, as is
fitting, that she does not conquer you ; and your own
fight is rendered strong by the strong battling of the
foe. Thus the same thing both helps and injures me.
Yea, 'tis an unworthy thing in your sight, dear youth,
to become a companion of the goddess who stands on
the sphere. You are steadfast and since the sails of
the battered ship are not what you would wish, you
control them, such as they are. The craft is so
1 Achilles. 2 Patroclus. 3 Pyludes.
335
OVID
quaeque ita concussa est, ut iam casura putetur,
60 restat adhuc umeris fulta ruina tuis.
ira quidem primo fuerat tua iusta, nee ipso
lenior, offensus qui mihi iure fuit.
quique dolor pectus tetigisset Caesaris alti,
ilium iurabas protinus esse tuum.
C5 ut tamen audita est nostrae tibi cladis origo,
diceris erratis ingemuisse meis.
turn tua me primum solari littera coepit
et laesum flecti spem dare posse deum.
movit amicitiae turn te constantia longae,
70 ante tuos ortus quae mihi coepta fuit,
et quod eras aliis factus, mihi natus amicus,
quodque tibi in cunis oscula prima dedi.
quod, cum vestra domus teneris mihi semper ab annis
culta sit, esse vetus me tibi cogit1 onus.
76 me tuus ille pater, Latiae facundia linguae,
quae non inferior nobilitate fuit,
primus ut auderem committere carmina famae
impulit : ingenii dux fuit ille mei.
nee quo sit primum nobis a tempore cultus
80 contendo fratrem posse referre tuum.
te tamen ante omnis ita sum conplexus, ut unus
quolibet in casu gratia nostra fores,
ultima me tecum vidit maestisque cadentes
excepit lacrimas Aethalis Ilva 2 genis :
85 cum tibi quaerenti, num verus nuntius esset,
attulerat culpae quern mala fama meae,
inter confessum dubie 3 dubieque negantem
haerebam, pavidas dante timore notas,
exemploque nivis, quam mollit aquaticus Auster,
90 gutta per attonitas ibat oborta genas.
1 mine tibi cogor 2 aeithali silva etc. corr. Rutgers
3 dubie] medius : om. A
336
EX PONTO, II. m. 59-90
shattered that men expect it to founder at once, but
your shoulders still support the wreck. At first
indeed your wrath was just nor milder than his who
was rightly angered against me. The feeling which
had touched the breast of lofty Caesar— that feeling
you swore forthwith was yours. Yet when you
heard the cause of my disaster, they say you groaned
over my mistake. At that time your letter was the
first to comfort me, bringing the hope that the injured
god could be moved. Then you were stirred by
the constancy of long friendship that began before
your birth, because for others you had become, for
me you had been born, a friend, because I gave you
the first kisses in your cradle. This, since I have
constantly revered your house from my earliest
years, makes me perforce a burden of long standing
upon you . That famed father of yours , the eloquence
of the Latin tongue, not inferior to his noble birth,
first urged me to venture upon the publication of my
verse : he was the guide of my genius. Nor can
your brother, I maintain, recall the time of my first
honour to him. But to you above all I clung so
close that you alone, whate'er befell, were my source
of favour. Aethalian Ilva l last saw us together and
received the tears as they fell from our sorrowing
cheeks. Then at your question whether the news
was true which the ill repute of my sin had brought,
I wavered between dubious confession and dubious
denial, fear telling the tale of my timidity, and like
the snow which rainy Auster melts tears of dismay
welled up and coursed along my cheeks. And so as
1 The modern Elba.
z 337
OVID
haec igitur referens et quod mea crimina primi
erroris venia posse latere vides,
respicis antiquum lassis in rebus amicum,
fomentisque iuvas vulnera nostra tuis.
95 pro quibus optandi si nobis copia fiat,
tarn bene promerito commoda mille precer.1
sed si sola mihi dentur tua vota, precabor
ut tibi sit salvo Caesare salva parens.
haec ego, cum faceres altaria pinguia ture,
100 te soli turn memini prima rogare deos.
IV.
Accipe conloquium gelido Nasonis ab Histro,
Attice, iudicio non dubitande meo.
ecquid adhuc remanes memor infelicis amici,
deserit an partis languida cura suas ?
6 non ita di mihi sunt tristes, ut credere possim
fasque putem iam te non meminisse mei.
ante oculos nostros posita est 2 tua semper imago,
et videor vultus mente videre tuos.
seria multa mihi tecum conlata recorder,
10 nee data iucundis tempora pauca iocis.
saepe citae longis visae sermonibus horac,
saepe fuit brevior quam mea verba dies,
saepe tuas venit factum rnodo carmen ad aim's
et nova iudicio subdita Musa tuo est.
15 quod tu laudaras, populo placuisse putabam.
hoc pretium curae dulce regentis 3 erat.
utque meus lima rasus liber esset amici,
non semel admonitu facta litura tuo est.
1 precor corr. Heinsivs
2 posit a est] tua est vel tua stat etc.
3 recent is vel monentis
338
EX PONTO, II. m. 91— iv. 18
you recall this, seeing that 'tis possible for my sin,
by condoning my original mistake, to lie unnoticed,
you take thought of your old friend in his misfortunes,
you soothe and help my wounds. For this, should
full petition be granted me, I should invoke a thou-
sand blessings upon you for your kindly service, but
if I be allowed only your own vows, I will pray, after
Caesar's weal, for that of your mother. This, when
you enriched the altar with incense, you were wont
to ask first of all, I remember, of the gods.
IV. To ATTICUS
Let Naso converse with you from the freezing
Hister, Atticus, friend whom my judgment should
not doubt. Do you still remain at all mindful of
your unhappy friend or has your regard grown weak
and abandoned its role ? The gods are not so harsh
to me that I can believe and deem it just that
you no longer think of me. Before my eyes your
image ever stands ; I seem in thought to see your
features. I recall many serious talks that we have
had and not a few hours given over to pleasant jest.
Oft did the hours seem too swift for our long talks, oft
the day was too short for my words. Oft came to
your ears a poem I had just composed ; a new effort
was subjected to your criticism. What you had
praised I considered had already pleased the public ;
this was the pleasant reward of my critic's care. To
have my book touched by the file of a friend I have
more than once made an erasure at your suggestion.
339
OVID
nos fora viderunt pariter, nos porticus omnis,
20 nos via, nos iunctis curva theatra locis.
denique tantus amor nobis, carissime, semper,
quantus in Aeacide Nestorideque fuit.
non ego, si biberes securae pocula Lethes,
excidere haec credam pectore posse tuo.
25 longa dies citius brumali sidere, noxque
tardior hiberna solstitialis erit,
nee Babylon aestum, nee frigora Pontus habebit,
calthaque Paestanas vincet odore rosas,
quam tibi nostrarum veniant oblivia rerum.
oO non ita pars fati Candida nulla mei est.
ne tamen haec dici possit fiducia mendax
stultaque credulitas nostra fuisse, cave,
constantique fide veterem tutare sodalem,
qua licet et quantum non onerosus ero.
V.
Condita disparibus numeris ego Naso Salano
praeposita misi verba salute meo.
quae rata sit, cupio, rebusque ut comprobet omen,
te precor a salvo possit, amice, legi.
6 candor, in hoc aevo res intermortua paene,
exigit ut faciam talia vota tuus.
nam fuerim quamvis modico tibi iunctus ab usu,
diceris exiliis indoluisse meis ;
missaque ab Euxino legeres cum carmina Ponto,
10 ilia tuus iuvit qualiacumque favor ;
optastique brevem solvi * mihi Caesaris iram,
quod tamen optari, si sciat, ipse sinat.
moribus ista tuis tarn mitia vota dedisti,
nee minus idcirco sunt ea grata mihi.
1 solvi Postffate] salvi vel fieri
340
EX PONTO, II. iv. 19— v. 14.
The fora saw us side by side, every portico, every
street ; the hollow theatre found us in adjoining
seats. In short our affection, dear friend, was always
as strong as that of the scions of Aeacus and Nestor.
Not even were you drinking draughts of care-
dispelling Lethe, could I believe that all this could
fall from your heart. Sooner shall the long days come
to pass in winter, sooner shall the nights of summer
be longer than those of winter, Babylon have no
heat, Pontus no cold, sooner shall the lily surpass the
Paestan rose in perfume than you shall forget your
relations with me. Not so black is any part of my
fate. But beware lest this trust of mine be called
fallacious or my belief foolish ; with steadfast faith
defend your old comrade in what way you can and in
so far as I shall not be burdensome.
V. To SALANUS
A poem framed in unequal numbers I, Naso, send
to my Salanus, prefaced by a wish for his weal. May
this be so, I earnestly desire, and I pray that you, my
friend, to prove the omen in fact, may be able to read
it safe and sound. Your noble nature, a thing almost
at the point of death in this age, requires such prayer
from me. For though I was joined to you by only
moderate association, they say that you have grieved
over my exile ; when you read verses sent from the
Euxine Pontus, your kindness helped them whatever
their worth ; you wished that Caesar's wrath might
soon be relaxed * in my favour — a wish that he him-
self would permit if he knew it. To your character
was due so kind a wish, and it is none the less pleasing
1 The text is not certain.
341
OVID
15 quoque magis moveare malis, doctissime, nostris,
credibile est fieri condicione loci,
vix hac invenies totum, mihi crede, per orbem,
quae minus Augusta pace fruatur humus,
tu tamen hie structos inter fera proelia versus
20 et legis et lectos ore favente probas,
ingenioque meo, vena quod paupere manat,
plaudis, et e rivo flumina magna facis.
grata quidem sunt haec ammo suffragia nostro,
vix sibi cum miseros posse placere putes.1
25 durn tamen in rebus temptamus carmina parvis,
materiae gracili sufficit ingenium.
nuper, ut hue magni pervenit fama triumphi,
ausus sum tantae sumere molis opus,
obruit audentem rerum gravitasque nitorque,
30 nee potui coepti pondera ferre mei.
illic, quam laudes, erit officiosa voluntas :
cetera materia debilitata iacent.
qui si forte liber vestras pervenit ad auris,
tutelam mando sentiat ille tuam.
35 hoc tibi facturo, vel si non ipse rogarem,
accedat cumulus gratia nostra levis.
non ego laudandus, sed sunt tua pectora, lacte
et non calcata candidiora nive :
mirarisque alios, cum sis mirabilis ipse,
40' nee lateant artes eloquiumque tuum.
te iuvenum princeps, cui dat Germania nomen,
participem studii Caesar habere solet.
1 putas vel putat
342
EX PONTO, II. v. 15-42
to me for that reason. You are all the more affected
by my misfortunes, accomplished friend, because, I
believe, of the character of my place of exile. You
will scarce find in the whole world, I assure you, a
land that enjoys so little the Augustan Peace.
19 Yet you are reading here verses composed amid
fierce battles, and when you have read, your
favouring lips approve them. My talent, trickling
now in so impoverished a stream, wins your applause
and from a rivulet you make a mighty river. Gratify-
ing indeed to my soul is this suffrage of yours, even
though one might think that the wretched can scarce
be pleased with themselves. Still so long as I
attempt verse on humble themes my talent is equal
to the meagre subject. Recently when the report of
a mighty triumph reached me, I ventured to under-
take a work1 of great difficulty. My venture was
overwhelmed by the grandeur and splendour of the
theme ; I was not able to bear up under the weight of
my task. Therein you will find worthy of praise the
will to do my duty ; all else lies overpowered by the
subject. If perchance that composition has reached
your ear, I direct that it may know your protection.
To you, who would do this even if I did not ask it in
person, let your favour to me contribute as a sligty;
incentive. I do not deserve your praise, but your
heart is whiter than milk, than untrodden snow ; you
feel admiration for others, though you are worthy of
it yourself since your accomplishments and your
eloquence are open to the view of all.
41 You are wont to share the studies of the leader of
the youth, that Caesar on whom Germany bestows a
1 Perhaps the elegy to Germanicus (Ex P. ii. 1).
343
OVID
tu comes antiquus, tu primis iunctus ab annis
ingenio mores aequiperante places.
45 te dicente prius fit protinus impetus illi :
teque habet elicias qui sua verba tuis.
cum tu desisti mortaliaque ora quierunt
tectaque non longa conticuere mora,
surgit luleo iuvenis cognomine dignus,
60 qualis ab Eois Lucifer ortus aquis.
dumque silens adstat, status est vultusque diserti,
spemque decens doctae vocis amictus l habet.
mox, ubi pulsa mora est atque os caeleste solutum,
hoc superos iures more solere loqui,
55 atque " haec est " dicas " facundia principe digna " :
eloquio tantum nobilitatis inest.
huic tu cum placeas et vertice sidera tangas,
scripta tamen profugi vatis habenda putas.
scilicet ingeniis aliqua est concordia iunctis,
CO et servat studii foedera quisque sui :
rusticus agricolam, miles fera bella gerentem,
rectorem dubiae navita puppis amat.
tu quoque Pieridum studio, studiose, teneris,
ingenioque faves, ingeniose, meo.
65 distat opus nostrum, sed fontibus exit ab isdem :
artis et ingenuae cultor uterque sumus.
thyrsus abest a te,2 gustata 3 est laurea nobis,
sed tamen ambobus debet inesse calor :
utque meis numeris tua dat facundia nervos,
70 sic venit a nobis in tua verba nitor.
1 amicus corr. Heinsius
2 abest a te Rothmaler] sublestate (A) vel ubi est a te vel
enim vobis * gestata
1 See note on Ex P. i. 1. 46.
2 The Romans laid great stress on the grace and appro-
priateness of the orator's dress.
344
EX PONTO, II. v. 43-70
name. You have been for long his companion, you
have been in union with him from his earliest years,
finding favour with him by virtue of a talent that
equals your character. Under your guidance as a
speaker he forthwith attains fiery eloquence, in you
he has one to lure forth his words by your own. When
you have finished and mortal lips have become quiet,
closed in silence for a short space, then arises the
youth worthy of the lulean l name, as rises Lucifer
from the eastern waters, and as he stands in silence,
his posture, his countenance are those of an orator,
and his graceful robe gives hope of eloquent words.2
Then after a pause he opens his godlike lips and one
might take oath that the gods above speak in this
fashion. One might exclaim, " This is eloquence
worthy of a prince," such nobility is in his utterance.
67 Though you find favour with this youth, touching
the very stars with your head, yet you consider the
writings of an exiled bard wrorthy of consideration.
Surely there is some bond of harmony between
kindred spirits, each keeping the compacts that
belong to his pursuit. The peasant loves the farmer,
the soldier him who wages war, the sailor the pilot of
the swaying ship. You too are possessed with de-
votion to the Pierians, studious one ; you, talented
yourself, look with favour on my talent. Our work
differs, but it derives from the same sources ; we are
both worshippers of liberal art. You have no thyrsus,
I have tasted the laurel ; 3 but there should be fire
in us both : as my numbers receive vigour from
your eloquence, so I lend brilliance to your words.
8 Thyrsus, a symbol of poetic inspiration which was also
thought to be caused by tasting laurel, cf. Juv. vii. 19
laurumque momordit. But the text is far from certain.
345
OVID
iure igitur studio confinia carmina vestro
et commilitii sacra tuenda putas.
pro quibus ut maneat, de quo censeris, amicus,
comprecor ad vitae tempora summa tuae,
75 succedatque suis l orbis moderator 2 habcnis :
quod mecum populi vota precantur idem.
VI.
Carmine Graecinum, qui praesens voce solebat,
tristis ab Euxinis Naso salutat aquis.
exulis haec vox est : praebet mihi littera linguam,
et si non liceat scribere, mutus ero.
5 corripis, ut debes, stulti peccata sodalis,
et mala me meritis ferre minora doces.3
vera facis, sed sera meae convicia culpae :
aspera confesso verba remitte reo.
cum poteram recto transire Ceraunia velo,
10 ut fera vitarem saxa, monendus eram.
nunc mihi naufragio quid prodest discere 4 facto,
qua mea debuerit currere cumba via ?
brachia da lasso potius prendenda natanti,
nee pigeat mento supposuisse manum.
15 idque facis, faciasque precor : sic mater et uxor,
sic tibi sint fratres totaque salva domus,
quodque soles ammo semper, quod voce precari,
omnia Caesaribus sic tua facta probes.
1 tuis a moderatus 3 doles corr. Faber
4 dicere
346
EX PONTO, II. 18 v. 71— vi.
By right then you think my poetry connected with
your pursuit and you believe that the rites of our
common warfare should be preserved. Therefore
may the friend through whom you win esteem
remain, I pray, yours unto the last moment of your
life, and may he come to the control of the world
with his own reins. This is at once my prayer and
that of the people.
VI. To GRAECINUS
In verse, Graecinus, that Naso who used to greet
you face to face in spoken words, greets you sadly
from the Euxine waters. An exile's voice is this ;
letters furnish me a tongue, and if I may not write, I
shall be dumb.
5 You reprove as in duty bound the sins of your
foolish friend, showing me that the evils that I suffer
are less than my deserts. You are right, but too late
is your reproof of my fault : relax the harshness of
your words for an accused who has confessed. At
the time when I could have passed Ceraunia with
standing sails, so as to avoid the cruel reefs, then it
was that I should have had your warning. Now
after my shipwreck how does it profit me to learn
what course my bark should have run ? Rather
extend an arm to the weary swimmer's grasp ; repent
not of supporting his chin with your hand. That you
are doing and, I pray, will continue to do : so may
your mother and wife, so may your brothers and all
your house be free from harm, and — as you are wont
to pray with heart, with voice — so for all your acts
may you find the Caesars' approval. Base will it be if
347
OVID
turpe erit in miseris veteri tibi rebus amico
20 auxilium nulla parte tulisse tuum,
turpe referre pedem, nee passu stare tenaci,
turpe laborantem deseruisse ratem,
turpe sequi casum et fortunae cedere 1 amicum,
et, nisi sit felix, esse negare suuni.
25 non ita vixerunt Strophio atque Agamemnone nati,
non haec Aegidae Pirithoique fides :
quos prior est mirata, sequens mirabitur aetas,
in quorum plausus tota theatra sonant,
tu quoque per durum servato tempus amico
30 dignus es in tantis nomen habere viris.
dignus es, et, quoniam laudem pietate mereris,
non erit officii gratia surd a tui.
crede mihi, nostrum si non mortale futurum est
carmen, in ore frequens posteritatis eris.
35 fac modo permaneas lasso, Graecine, fidelis,
duret et in longas impetus iste moras.
quae tu cum praestes, remo tamen utor in aura,
ncc nocet admisso subdere calcar equo.
VII.
Esse salutatum vult te mea littera primum
a male pacatis, Attice, missa Getis.
proxima subsequitur, quid agas, audire voluntas,2
et si, quidquid 3 agis, sit tibi cura mei.
6 nee dubito quin sit, sed me timor ipse malorum
saepe supervacuos cogit habere metus.
da veniam, quaeso, nimioque ignosce timori.
tranquillas etiam naufragus horret aquas.
1 accedere, at cf. Tib. iv. 13. 17 a voluptas
8 si quid vel iam si quid vet nunc quicquid
348
EX PONTO, II. vi. 19— vii. 8
you have aided in his misery an old friend in no way ;
base to step back, not standing with steadfast foot ;
base to abandon a ship in distress ; base to follow
chance, to surrender a friend to fortune, and should
he prosper not, to disclaim him as your own. Not such
was the life of the sons l of Strophius and Aga-
memnon ; not such was the loyalty of Aegeus' son 2
and Pirithous. Them past ages have admired, and
ages to come will admire ; to applaud them the whole
theatre roars. You too who have held to your friend
through times of stress deserve to have a name among
such great men. You deserve it — yes, and since
praise is the just reward of your loyalty, my gratitude
for your service shall never be dumb. Trust me, if
my song is not destined to die, you shall be often on
the lips of posterity. Only see that you remain
faithful to your weary friend, Graecinus, and let your
impulse endure for long. Though you do me this
service, yet I use the oar while I have the breeze, nor
is it harmful to spur on the galloping steed.
VII. To ATTICUS
My letter sent from the scarce pacified Getae
wishes first to salute you, Atticus ; close follows the
wish to hear how you fare and whether, no matter
what your occupation, you have any interest in me.
I doubt not you have, yet the very dread of mis-
fortunes often forces me to feel empty fears. Grant
me indulgence, I pray, pardon my excessive dread :
the shipwrecked man shrinks even from calm waters.
1 Pylades and Orestes. 2 Theseus.
349
OVID
qui semel est laesus fallaci piscis ab hamo,
10 omnibus unca cibis aera subesse putat.
saepe canem longe visum fugit agna lupumque
credit, et ipsa suam nescia vital opem.
membra reformidant mollem quoque saucia tactum,
vanaque sollicitis incutit1 umbra metum.
15 sic ego Fortunae telis confixus iniquis
pectore concipio nil nisi triste meo.
iam mihi fata liquet coeptos servantia cursus
per sibi consuetas semper itura vias :
observare deos, ne quid mihi cedat amice,
20 verbaque Fortunae vix puto posse dari.
est illi curae me perdere, quaeque solebat
esse levis, constans et bene certa nocet.
crede mihi, si sum veri tibi cognitus oris
(nee planis 2 nostris casibus esse puter 3),
25 Cinyphiae segetis citius numerabis aristas,
altaque quam multis floreat Hybla thy mis,
et quot aves motis nitantur in aere pinnis,
quotque natent pisces aequore, cerius eris,
quam tibi nostrorum statuatur summa laborum,
30 quos ego sum terra, quos ego passus aqua,
nulla Getis toto gens est truculentior orbe ;
sed tamen hi nostris ingemuere malis.
quae tibi si memori coner perscribere versu,
Ilias est fati longa futura mei.
35 non igitur vereor4 quo5 te rear esse verendum,
cuius amor nobis pignora mille dedit,
sed quia res timida est omnis miser, et quia longo
est
tempore laetitiae ianua clausa meae.
1 inmutat vel indtat vd concitat corr. £~ - plan us
3 puter Ehwald] potcs vel potest vtl solet
4 verear 6 quo] qua vel quia vel quod
350
EX PONTO, II. vii. 9-38
The fish once wounded by the treacherous hook
fancies the barbed bronze concealed in every bit of
food. Ofttimes the lamb flees the distant sight of a
dog in the belief that it is a wolf, unwittingly avoiding
its own protector. A wounded body shrinks from
even a delicate touch ; an empty shadow inspires the
anxious with fear. So I, pierced by the unjust shafts
of Fortune, fashion in my breast naught but gloomy
thoughts. Already it is clear to me that fate,
keeping to the course begun, will continue always to
run in a familiar path ; the gods are watching that no
kind concession be made me and I think Fortune can
scarcely be cheated. She is working to destroy me —
she who used to be fickle, is now steadfastly and with
determination injuring me. O believe, if I have
been known to you as a speaker of truth, (and though
my misfortunes are clear I may not be thought
so,)1 you will more quickly count the ears of a crop
by the Cinyphus, or the many blooms of thyme upon
lofty Hybla, or count the number of birds floating in
air on vibrant wings or the fishes swimming in the
waters, than reckon the sum of woes I have borne
on land, on sea.
31 No race in the wide world is grimmer than the
Getae, yet they have lamented over my misfortunes.
Should I attempt to a full record of them in verse,
there will be a long Iliad of my fate. I fear, there-
fore, not that I think I need have fear of you of whose
love I have received a thousand pledges, but because
every unfortunate is a thing full of fear, because for a
long time the door of joy has been closed for me.
1 The text of 1. 24 is uncertain. The meaning seems to
be that the poet's woes though real are incredible.
351
OVID
iam dolor in morem venit meus, utque caducis
40 percussu crebro saxa cavantur aquis,
sic ego continuo Fortunae vulneror ictu,
vixque habet in nobis iam nova plaga locum,
nee magis assiduo vomer tenuatur ab usu,
nee magis est curvis Appia trita rotis,
45 pectora quam mea sunt serie calcata 1 malorum,
et nihil inveni, quod mihi ferret opem.
artibus ingenuis quaesita est gloria multis :
infelix peril dotibus ipse meis.
vita prior vitio caret et sine labe peracta est 2 :
50 auxilii misero nil tulit ilia mihi.
culpa gravis precibus donatur saepe suorum :
omnis pro nobis gratia muta fuit.
adiuvat in duris aliquos 3 praesentia rebus :
obruit hoc absens vasta procella caput.
55 quis 4 non horruerit tacitarn 5 quoque Caesaris iram ?
addita sunt poenis aspera verba meis.
fit fuga temporibus levior : proiectus in aequor
Arcturum subii Pleiadumque minas.
saepe solent hiemen placidam sentire carinae :
60 non Ithacae puppi saevior unda fuit.
recta fides comitum poterat mala nostra levare :
ditata est spoliis perfida turba meis.
mitius exilium faciunt loca : tristior ista
terra sub ambobus non iacet ulla polls.
65 est aliquid patriis vicirium finibus esse :
ultima me tellus, ultimus orbis habet.
praestat et exulibus pacem tua laurea, Caesar :
Pontica finitimo terra sub hoste iacet.
caecata 2 est om. A 3 aliqu
4 quis lleinsiua] quae vd quern (que) obruerit (-et)
6 taciti
1
EX PONTO, II. vn. 39-68
My grief has already become a habit ; as the falling
drops by their constant force hollow the rock, so am I
wounded by the steady blows of fate until now I have
scarce space upon me for a new wound. The plough-
share is not more thinned by constant use, the Appia l
more worn by the curving wheels than my heart is
worn by the hoof-beats of my continuous misfortunes ;
nothing have I found to bring me aid.
47 By liberal arts many have sought renown ; I,
unhappy that I am, have been ruined by my own
dower. My earlier life was free from fault, was lived
without blemish, but it has brought me no succour in
my misfortune. Serious fault is often pardoned to
the prayers of one's friends ; on my behalf all favour
has been mute. Some are helped in their difficulties
by the fact that they are present ; I was absent
when this mighty tempest overwhelmed me. Who
would not dread even the unspoken wrath of Caesar ?
My punishment was enhanced by harsh words. The
season makes exile lighter ; I, driven forth upon
the sea, endured Arcturus and the Pleiads' threats.
Ships are often wont to experience a mild winter ;
not the Ithacan ship 2 had a fiercer sea. The up-
right loyalty of comrades could have alleviated my
misfortunes, but a treacherous crowd grew rich on my
spoils. Places render exile milder ; a more dismal
land than this lies not under either pole. 'Tis some-
thing to be near the confines of one's native land ;
the remotest land, the remotest world possesses
me. Thy laurel, Caesar, assures peace even to
exiles ; the Pontic land lies exposed to a neighbouring
1 The via Appia, the great highway from Rome to Capua.
2 The ship of Ulysses.
2 A 353
OVID
tempus in agrorum cultu consumere dulce est :
70 non patitur verti barbarus hostis humum.
temperie caeli corpusque animusque iuvatur :
frigore perpetuo Sarmatis ora riget.
est in aqua dulci non invidiosa voluptas :
aequoreo bibitur cum sale mixta palus.
76 omnia deficiurit. animus tamen omnia vincit :
ille etiam vires corpus habere facit.
sustineas ut onus, nitendum vertice pleno est,
aut, flecti nervos si patiere, cades,
spes quoque posse mora mitescere principis iram,
80 vivere ne nolim deficiamque, cavet.
nee vos parva datis pauci solacia nobis,
quorum spectata est per mala nostra fides,
coepta tene, quaeso, neque in aequore desere navem,
meque simul serva iudiciumque tuum.
VIII.
Redditus est nobis Caesar cum Caesare nuper,
quos mini misisti, Maxime Cotta, deos ;
utque tuum munus nurnerum, quern debet, haberet,
est ibi Caesaribus Li via iuncta suis.
5 argentum felix omnique beatius auro,
quod, fuerit pretium cum rude, numen habet.
non mihi divitias dando maiora dedisses,
caeli tibus missis nostra sub ora tribus.
est aliquid spectare deos et adesse putare,
10 et quasi cum vero numine posse loqui.
354
EX PONTO, II. vn. 69— vm. 10
foe. 'Tis pleasant to spend one's time in tilling the
fields ; the barbarian foe permits no sod to be turned.
By a mild climate body and mind are helped ; eternal
cold freezes the Sarmatian coast. There is in sweet
water a pleasure that stirs no envy ; I drink marshy
water mingled with the salt of the sea. I lack all
things, but courage conquers all things ; it even
causes the body to have strength. To support the
burden you must struggle with head held stiff or
else, if you allow your sinews to yield, you will fall.
Even the hope that 'tis possible time may soften the
prince's wrath, prevents me from aversion to life
and utter breakdown. And you give me no small
comfort — the few whose fidelity has been tested by
my misfortunes. Keep on as you have begun, I
pray, do not abandon the ship upon the sea ; pre-
serve me and with me your own conviction.
VIII. To COTTA MAXIMUS
I have recently received a Caesar in company of a
Caesar l — the gods whom you sent me, Cotta Maxi-
mus ; and that your gift might be complete, Livia
appeared there united with her Caesars. Happy
silver ! more blessed than any gold ! For though but
recently rough metal 'tis now divine ! Not by the
gift of riches could you have given me a greater
present than the three deities whom you have sent
to my shores.
9 'Tis something to behold gods and think them
present, to have the power to speak as it were with a
1 Perhaps a medallion with likenesses of the imperial
three : Augustus, Tiberius, and Livia.
355
OVID
quantum ad te,1 redii, nee me tenet ultima tellus,
utque prius, media sospes in urbe moror.
Caesareos video vultus, velut ante videbarn :
vix miius voti spes fuit ulla mihi ;
15 utque salutabam numen caeleste, saluto.
quod reduci tribuas, nil, puto, maius habes.
quid nostris oculis nisi sola Palatia desunt ?
qui locus ablato Caesare vilis erit.
hunc ego cum spectem, videor mihi cernere Romam ;
20 nam patriae faciem sustinet ille suae.
fallor an irati rnihi sunt in imagine vultus,
torvaque nescio quid forma minantis habet ?
parce, vir inmenso maior virtutibus orbe,
iustaque vindictae supprime lora tuae.
25 parce, precor,2 saecli decus indelebile 3 nostri,
terrarum dominum quern tua cura facit.
per patriae nomen, quae te tibi carior ipso est,
per numquam surdos in tua vota deos,
perque tori sociam, quae par tibi sola reperta est,
30 et cui maiestas non onerosa tua est,
perque tibi similem virtutis imagine natum,
moribus adgnosci qui tuus esse potest,
perque tuos, vel avo dignos, vel patre nepotes,
qui veniunt magno per tua iussa gradu,
35 parte leva minima nostras et contrahe poenas,
daque, procul Scythico qui sit ab hoste, locum,
et tua, si fas est, a Caesare proxime Caesar,
numina sint precibus non inimica meis.
sic fera quam primum pavido Germania vultu
40 ante triumphantis serva feratur equos :
1 quanta meridi (A] vel quanta (quantum vel quando)
a te (ad me) redii, etc. corr. Ehwald
2 precor] puer
8 admirabile vel o venerabile
356
EX PONTO, II. vin. 11-40
real deity. So far as you could effect it, I have
returned, I am no more in a remote land ; as of old I
am safe in the midst of the city. I see the faces of
the Caesars as I used before to see them ; of this
prayer's fulfilment I have scarce had any hope. I
salute the deity of heaven as I used to do : even
should I return, no greater gift, I think, have you to
bestow upon me. What do my eyes lack save only
the Palatine ? And that place, if Caesar is removed,
will be worthless. As I gaze on him I seem to look on
Rome, for he embodies the likeness of our fatherland.
Am I wrong or do the features of his portrait show
anger against me ? Is his form somehow grim and
threatening ? Spare me, thou who art mightier in
thy virtues than the measureless world, check the
reins of thy just vengeance. Spare me, thou im-
perishable glory of our age, lord of the world because
of thine own care. By the name of our country which
is dearer to thee than thyself, by the gods who are
never deaf to thy prayers, by thy consort l who alone
has been found equal to thee, who feels not thy
majesty a burden, by thy son 2 like thee a model of
virtue whose character causes him to be recognized
as thine, by thy grandsons 3 worthy of their grand-
sire or their sire, who advance with mighty stride
along the path of thy command, lighten in but the
least degree and restrict my punishment : grant me
an abode far from the Scythian enemy.
37 And if 'tis right, O Caesar 2 nearest to Caesar,
— let not thy divinity be hostile to my prayers. So
may wild Germany soon be borne with fear-stricken
countenance a slave before thy triumphant steeds ;
i Livia. * Tiberius.
3 Germanicus (by adoption) and Drusus sons of Tiberius.
357
OVID
sic pater in Pylios, Cumaeos mater in annos
vivant, et possis filius esse dm.
tu quoque, conveniens ingenti nupta marito,
accipe non dura supplicis aure preces.
45 sic tibi vir sospes, sic sint cum prole nepotes,
cumque bonis nuribus quod peperere nurus.
sic, quern dira tibi rapuit Germania Drusum,
pars fuerit partus sola caduca tui.
sic tibi mature fraterni funeris ultor
50 purpureus niveis films instet equis.
adnuite o ! timidis, mitissima numina, votis.
praesentis aliquid prosit habere deos.
Caesaris adventu tuta1 gladiator harena
exit, et auxilium non leve vultus habet.
65 nos quoque vestra iuvat2 quod, qua licet, ora videmus,
intrata est superis quod domus una tribus.
felices illi, qui non simulacra, sed ipsos,
quique deum coram corpora vera vident.
quod quoniam nobis invidit inutile fatum,
60 quos dedit ars, vultus effigiemque colo.
sic homines novere deos, quos arduus aether
occulit, et colitur pro love forma lovis.
denique, quae mecum est et erit sine fine, cavete,
ne sit in inviso vestra figura loco.
G5 nam caput e nostra citius cervice recedet,
et patiar fossis lumen abire genis,
quam caream raptis, o publica numina, vobis :
vos eritis nostrae portus et ara fugae.
1 tola ; tuto Owen 2 iuvet
1 Nestor. "~~~
358
EX PONTO, II. vm. 41-68
so may thy father attain the years of the Pylian l and
thy mother those of the Cumaean 2 and mayst thou
be for long a son. Thou, too, spouse suited to a
mighty husband, listen with no cruel ear to the
prayers of a suppliant. So may thy husband be
safe, so thy grandsons and their offspring, so thy good
sons' wives and their children. So may that Drusus,3
whom cruel Germany tore away from thee, be the
only one of thy descendants to fall. So in the near
future may the avenger of his brother's death drive,
in purple clad, the snow-white steeds. Assent to my
timorous prayers, ye kind deities ! Let it profit
me somewhat to have gods present before me. At
Caesar's coming the gladiator leaves the arena in
safety, for his countenance brings no slight aid. I
too am helped because, so far as I am allowed, I gaze
upon the features of you all, because three of the
celestials have entered one home. Happy they who
see not likenesses, but the reality, the real persons
of the gods face to face. This has been begrudged
me by hostile fate, and so I cherish the countenances
and figures which art has produced. Thus it is that
men know the gods whom the lofty aether conceals ;
they worship in Jupiter's stead the likeness of Jupiter.
In fine make it your care that these your likenesses,
which are with me and shall ever be with me, be not in
a hateful place. For my head shall sooner leave my
neck, sooner will I gouge out my eyes from my
cheeks, than be deprived, O deities of the state, of
you. You shall be the harbour, the altar of my exile.
* The Cumaean Sibyl who was 700 years old when she
prophesied to Aeneas.
8 The father of Germanicus. He was killed in Germany
by a fall from his horse.
359
OVID
vos ego complectar, Geticis si cingar ab armis,
70 utque meas aquilas, ut mea l signa sequar.
aut ego me fallo nimiaque cupidine ludor,
aut spes exilii commodioris adest.
nam minus et minus est facies in imagine tristis,
visaque sunt dictis adnuere ora meis.
75 vera precor fiant timidae praesagia mentis,
iustaque quamvis est, sit minor ira dei.
IX.
Regia progenies, cui nobilitatis origo
nomen in Eumolpi pervenit usque, Coty,
fama loquax vestras si iam pervenit ad auris,
me tibi finitimi parte iacere soli,
6 supplicis exaudi, iuvenum mitissime, vocem,
quamque potes, profugo (nam potes) adfer opem.
me fortuna tibi — de qua quod non queror,2 hoc est —
tradidit, hoc uno non inimica mihi.
excipe naufragium non duro litore nostrum,
10 ne fuerit terra tutior unda tua.
regia, crede mihi, res est succurrere lapsis,
convenit et tanto, quantus es ipse, viro.
fortunam decet hoc istam : quae maxima cum sit,
esse potest ammo vix tamen aequa tuo.
15 conspicitur numquam meliore potentia causa,
quam quotiens vanas non sinit esse preces.
hoc nitor iste tui generis desiderat, hoc est
a superis ortae nobilitatis opus,
hoc tibi et Eumolpus, generis clarissimus auctor,3
20 et prior Eumolpo suadet Erichthonius.
1 ut mea] tutaque vel vos mea vel signa ego vestra, etc.
corr. Korn 8 querar
360
EX PONTO, II. vin. 69— ix. 20
You will I embrace when I am circled about by Getic
arms ; you will I follow as my eagles, as my standards.
71 Either I am self-deceived or mocked by excessive
longing, or else the hope of a more comfortable exile
is at hand. For less and less stern are the features
of the portrait — the lips seem to consent at my words.
I pray that the premonitions of my fearful heart may
become the truth, that although the god's wrath is
just, it may grow less.
IX. To KING COTYS
Cotys, scion of kings, whose noble line extends
even to the name of Eumolpus, if talkative report has
already come to your ears that I am lying in a neigh-
bouring land, hear the voice of a suppliant, gentle
youth, and bear what aid thou canst — and thou hast
the power — to an exile. Fortune — of whom in this
one thing I complain not — has given me over to thee ;
in this alone she is not hostile to me. Harbour my
shipwreck on no cruel shore", let not the waters prove
safer than thy land. 'Tis a royal deed, I assure thee,
to help the fallen, it befits a man as mighty as thou
art. This becomes thy position which, great though
it is, can scarce be equal to thy spirit. Power is
never seen in a better cause than when it does not
permit prayers to be vain. This that brilliant birth
of thine desires, this is the task of a nobility sprung
from those above. This Eumolpus, the illustrious
founder of thy race, and before Eumolpus Erich-
* generis . . auctor] opus hoc tibi suadet erato
OVID
hoc tecum commune deo est,1 quod uterque rogati
supplicibus vestris ferre soletis opem.
rmmquid 2 erit, quare solito dignemur honore
numina, si demas velle iuvare deos ?
25 luppiter oranti surdas si praebeat auris,
victima pro templo cur cadat icta lovis ?
si pacem nullam pontus mihi praestet eunti,
irrita Neptuno cur ego tura feram ?
vana laborantis si fallat vota coloni,
30 accipiat gravidae cur suis exta Ceres ?
nee dabit intonso iugulum caper hostia Baccho,
musta sub adducto si pede nulla fluent.
Caesar ut imperil moderetur frena precamur,
tarn bene quod patriae consulit ille suae.
35 utib'tas igitur magnos hominesque deosque
efficit, auxiliis quoque favente suis.
tu quoque fac prosis intra3 tua castra iacenti,
o Coty, progenies digna parente tuo.
conveniens homini est hominem servare voluptas,
40 et melius nulla quaeritur arte favor.
quis non Antiphaten Laestrygona devovet ? aut quis
munifici mores improbat Alcinoi ?
non tibi Cassandreus pater est gentisve Pheraeae,4
quive repertorem torruit arte sua :
45 sed quam Marte ferox et vinci nescius armis,
tam numquam, facta pace, cruoris amans.
adde quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes
emollit mores nee sinit esse feros.
nee regum quisquam magis est instructus ab illis,
50 mitibus aut studiis tempora plura dedit.
1 deos (dels vel del) : deo est Riese
8 namquid 8 profugus intra
4 genitorve (gentisque) caphereus (caphareus)
362
EX PONTO, II. ix. 21-50
thonius, enjoin. This thou hast in common with a
god : that ye are both wont to aid your petitioners.
Will there be any reason for us to grant their usual
honour to the gods, if one robs them of their will to
help ? If Jupiter should turn deaf ears to prayer,
why should a victim fall in sacrifice before Jupiter's
temple ? If the sea should offer no calm for my
journey, why should I offer vain incense to Neptune ?
Should she cheat the ineffectual prayers of the toiling
husbandman, why should Ceres receive the entrails
of a gravid sow ? The goat will not offer his throat in
sacrifice to unshorn Bacchus, if no must flows from
beneath the tread of feet. We pray that Caesar may
guide the reins of the empire because he plans so
wisely for his fatherland !
35 Utility, then, renders great both men and gods, if
each bestows in favour his own peculiar aid. Do thou
also avail him who lies within thy camp, Cotys, son
worthy of thy father. 'Tis a fitting pleasure for man
to save man ; there is no better way of seeking
favour. Who does not curse Antiphates the Lae-
strygonian ? Who disapproves the character of
generous Alcinous ? Thou hast for a father no Cas-
sandrean1 or man of Pheraean race,2 or him3 who
burned the inventor by his own craft, but one who
though fierce in war and unacquainted with defeat in
arms, was yet never fond of blood when peace was
made. Note too that a faithful study of the liberal
arts humanizes character and permits it not to be
cruel. No king has been better trained by them or
given more time to humane studies. Thy verse
1 Apollodorus of Cassandrea, a cruel tyrant.
2 i.e. descended from Alexander, tyrant of Pherae.
8 Phalaris, see Tr. Hi. 11. 39 ff.
363
OVID
carmina testantur, quae, si tua nomina demas,
Threicium iuvenem composuisse negem ;
neve sub hoc tractu vates foret unicus Orpheus,
Bistonis ingenio terra superba tuo est.
65 utque tibi est animus, cum res ita postulat, arma
sumere et hostili tingere caede manum,
atque ut es excusso iaculum torquere lacerto
collaque velocis flectere doctus equi,
tempora sic data sunt studiis ubi iusta paternis,
60 atque suis numeris l forte quievit opus,
ne tua marcescant per inertis otia somnos,
lucida Pieria tendis in astra via.
haec quoque res aliquid tecum mihi foederis affert :
eiusdem sacri cultor uterque sumus.
65 ad vatem vates orantia brachia tendo,
terra sit exiliis ut tua fida meis.
non ego caede nocens in Ponti litora veni,
mixtave sunt nostra dira venena manu :
nee mea subiecta convicta est gemma tabella
70 mendacem linis imposuisse notam.
nee quicquam, quod lege vetor committere, feci :
est tamen his gravior noxa fatenda mihi.
neve roges, quae sit, stultam conscripsimus 2 Artem ;
innocuas nobis haec vetat esse manus.
75 ecquid praeterea peccarim, quaerere noli,
ut lateat3 sola culpa sub Arte mea.
quicquid id est, habuit moderatam vindicis iram,
qui nisi natalem nil mihi dempsit humum.
hac quoniam careo, tua nunc vicinia praestet,
80 inviso possim tutus ut esse loco.
1 humeris corr. Heinsius 2 quae (quam) scripsimus
8 pateat corr. <s
364
EX PONTO, II. ix. 51-80
bears witness ; shouldst thou remove thy name, I
should deny that a Thracian youth was the com-
poser ; and that beneath this sky Orpheus might not
be the only bard, by thy talent is the Bistonian land
made proud. As thou hast the courage, when need
arises, to take arms and stain thy hand with enemy's
blood, and as thou hast been trained to hurl the
javelin with a sweep of thine arm, or to guide the
neck of the swift horse, so when just time has been
given to thy sire's pursuits and the task testing
thy might in all its parts has come to rest, that thy
leisure may not waste away in idle sleep, thou dost
press on the Pierian path towards the bright stars.
63 This also brings me a certain union with thee :
each is a worshipper at the same shrine. As bard to
bard I extend my arms in prayer that thy land may
be loyal to me in exile. I was not guilty of murder
when I came to Pontus' shores, no baneful poison
was mixed by my hand ; my seal was not convicted
by a fraudulent tablet of having imprinted on the
linen1 a lying mark. I have done naught that the
law forbids. Yet must I confess a weightier sin.
Ask not what it is. But I have composed a foolish
" Art " ; 'tis this prevents my hands from being
clean. Have I sinned further ? Do not inquire —
that my wrongdoing may hide beneath my " Art "
alone. Whatever it is, the avenger's wrath was
moderate. He took from me nothing but my native
land. Since I am deprived of that, let now thy near-
ness warrant that I can be secure in a place I hate.
1 i.e. the threads with which documents were tied together.
365
OVID
X.
Ecquid ab impressae cognoscis imagine cerae
haec tibi Nasonem scribere verba, Macer ?
auctorisque sui si non est anulus index,
cognitane est nostra littera facta manu ?
6 an tibi notitiam mora temporis eripit horum,
nee repetunt oculi signa vetusta tui ?
sis licet oblitus pariter gemmaeque manusque,
exciderit tantum ne tibi cura mei.
quam tu vel longi debes convictibus aevi,
10 vel mea quod coniunx non aliena tibi est,1
vel studiis, quibus es, quam nos, sapientius usus,
utque decet, nulla factus es Arte nocens.
tu canis aeterno quicquid restabat Homero,
ne careant summa Troica bella manu.
16 Naso parum prudens, artem dum tradit amandi,
doctrinae pretium triste magister habet.
sunt tamen inter se communia sacra poetis,
diversum quamvis quisque sequamur 2 iter :
quorum te memorem, quamquam procul absumus,
esse
20 suspicor, et casus velle levare meos.
te duce magnificas Asiae perspeximus urbes :
Trinacris est oculis te duce visa3 meis.
vidimus Aetnaea caelum splendescere flamma,
subpositus monti quam vomit ore Gigans,
25 Hennaeosque lacus et olentis 4 stagna Palici,
quaque suis Cyanen miscet Anapus aquis.
nee procul hinc nymphe, quae, dum fugit Elidis
amnem,
tecta sub aequorea nunc quoque currit aqua.
1 est om. 8 queramur vel sequahir
8 nota 4 olcntia corr. Zinzerling
366
EX PONTO, II. x. 1-28
X. To MACER
Does any inkling come to you, Macer, from the
figure pressed upon the wax that Naso writes these
words to you ? If the ring be not an informant of its
master, do you recognize the letters formed by my
hand ? Or is recognition of these things stolen from
you by length of time, and do your eyes not recall the
symbols of long ago ? You may forget alike seal and
hand if only interest in me has not dropped from your
mind. This you owe to the association of long years,
to my wife's kinship with you, or to the poetic studios
which you have employed more wisely than I ; and
(as 'tis fitting), no %< Art " has made you guilty. You
sing whatever immortal Homer left unsung, that the
wars of Troy may not lack the final hand.1 Naso
thoughtlessly imparts the art of love and the teacher
has the harsh reward of his teaching. There are,
nevertheless, rites common to all poets — though we
may each go our own separate way — which I believe
in my heart that you remember, even though we are
far apart, and wish to lighten my misfortunes. Under
your guidance I beheld the splendid cities of Asia,
under your guidance I saw the Trinacrian 2 land :
you and I saw the sky agleam with Aetna's flame
vomited forth by the giant 3 lying beneath the
mountain, the lakes of Henna, the pools of sulphurous
Palicus, and the spot where Anapus joins Cyane to
his own waters. Hard by is the nymph4 who fleeing
the Elean stream runs even now covered beneath the
1 i.e. the touch that completes and perfects a work of art.
8 Sicilian. 8 Typhon. 4 Arethusa.
367
OVID
hie mihi labentis pars anni magna peracta est.
30 eheu, quam dispar est locus ille Getis !
et quota pars haec sunt rerum, quas vidimus ambo
te mihi iucundas efficiente vias !
seu rate caeruleas picta sulcavimus undas,
esseda nos agili sive tulere rota,
35 saepe brevis nobis vicibus via visa loquendi,
pluraque, si numeres, verba fuere gradu,
saepe dies sermone minor fuit, inque loquendum
tarda per aestivos defuit hora dies,
est aliquid casus pariter timuisse marinos,
40 iunctaque ad aequoreos vota tulisse deos.
et modo res egisse simul, modo rursus ab illis,
quorum non pudeat, posse referre iocos.
haec tibi cum subeant, absim licet,1 omnibus annis
ante tuos oculos, ut rnodo visus, ero.
46 ipse quidem certe cum sim sub cardine mundi,
qui semper liquidis altior extat aquis,
te tamen intueor quo solo pectore possum,
et tecum gelido saepe sub axe loquor.
hie es, et ignoras, et ades celeberrimus absens,
60 inque Getas media iussus ab urbe venis.
redde vicem, et, quoniam regio felicior ista est,
istic me memori pectore semper habe.
XI.
Hoc tibi, Rufe, brevi properatum tempore mittit
Naso, parum faustae conditor Artis, opus,
ut, quamquam longe toto sumus orbe remoti,
scire tamen possis nos meminisse tui.
1 ipsum licet vel hie sim licet
1 The pole is often compared to a car do (the pivot on which
a door turns) or an axle.
368
EX PONTO, II. x. 29— xi. 4
waters of the sea. Here it was that I passed the
greater part of a quickly gliding year — alas ! how
unlike that land to this of the Getae ! and how small
a part are these of the things that we saw together
while you made every road pleasant for me !
Whether we furrowed the blue waves in a gaily
painted boat or drove in a swift- wheeled carriage,
often the way seemed short through our interchange
of talk, and our words, could you count them, out-
numbered our steps ; often the day was not long
enough for our talk — even the long hours of summer
did not suffice. 'Tis something to have feared
together the perils of the sea, together to have paid
our vows to the water gods, to have done deeds
in common and again after those deeds to be free
to utter jests which bring no shame. When these
thoughts steal upon you, absent though I be, I shall
be before your eyes as if you had just seen me. And
as for me, though I dwell beneath the pivot of the
heavens which is ever high above the clear waters
yet I behold you in my heart — my only way — and
often talk with you beneath the icy axle.1 You are
here and know it not, you are full often by my side
though far away, and you come at my bidding- from
the midst of the city to the land of the Getae. Make
me recompense, and since yours is the happier land,
there keep me ever in a remembering heart.
XI. To RUFUS
This work, Rufus, hastily composed in a brief space,
Naso sends to you — Naso, the author of the ill-starred
" Art " — that despite our separation by the whole
world's width you may know that I remember you.
2B 369
OVID
6 nominis ante mei venient oblivia nobis,
pectore quam pietas sit tua pulsa meo :
et prius hanc animam vacuas reddemus in auras,
quam fiat meriti gratia vana tui.
grande voco lacrimas meritum, quibus ora rigabas
10 cum mea concrete sicca dolore forent :
grande voco meritum maestae solacia mentis,
cum pariter nobis ilia tibique dares,
sponte quidem per seque mea est laudabilis uxor,
admonitu melior fit tamen ilia tuo.
15 namque quod Hermionae Castor fuit, Hector luli,
hoc ego te laetor coniugis esse meae.
quae ne dissimilis tibi sit probitate laborat,
seque tui vita sanguinis esse probat.
ergo quod fuerat stimulis factura sine ullis,
20 plenius auctorem te quoque nancta facit.
acer et ad palmae per se cursurus honores,
si tamen horteris, fortius ibit equus.
adde quod absentis cura mandata fideli
perficis, et nullum ferre gravaris onus.
25 o, referant grates, quoniam non possumus ipsi,
di tibi ! qui referent, si pia facta vident ;
sufficiatque diu corpus quoque moribus istis,
maxima Fundani gloria, Rufe, soli.
370
EX PONTO, II. xi. 5-28
Sooner shall I forget my own name than allow your
loyalty to be driven from my mind ; sooner shall I
give back this life to the empty air than gratitude for
your service become as naught. A great service I
call the tears which streamed over your face when my
own was dry with chilling grief. A great service I
call the consolation of my sorrow when you bestowed
it at once upon me and upon yourself. By her own
will and of herself my wife deserves all praise, yet
she is the better because of your admonitions : for
what Castor was to Hermione, Hector to lulus,1 this
you are, I rejoice to say, to my wife. She strives to
be not unlike you in probity, she proves herself by
her life to be of your blood, and so that which she
would have done with no urging, she does more fully
because you are her sponsor. The mettlesome steed
who will of his own accord race for the honour of
the palm will nevertheless, if you urge him, run
with greater spirit. And besides you perform with
faithful care the directions of one who is absent ;
there is no burden that you object to carrying. O
may the gods recompense you, since I have not the
power ; and they will recompense if they but see
deeds of loyalty. May you long have health to
uphold your character, Rufus, chief glory of Fundi's
land !
1 i.e. uncle. Creusa, mother of lulus (Ascanius), was
Hector's sister.
371
LIBER TERTIUS
I.
Aequor lasonio pulsatum remige primum,
quaeque nee hoste fero nee nive, terra, cares,
ecquod erit tempus quo vos ego Naso relinquam
in minus hostili iussus abesse loco ?
5 an mihi barbaria vivendum semper in ista,
inque Tomitana condar oportet humo ?
pace tua, si pax ulla est tua, Pontica tellus,
finitimus rapido quam terit hostis equo,
pace tua dixisse velim, tu pessima duro
10 pars es in exilio, tu mala nostra gravas.
tu neque ver sentis cinctum florente corona,
tu neque messorum corpora nuda vides.
nee tibi pampineas autumnus porrigit uvas :
cuncta sed inmodicum tempora frig us babet.1
15 tu glacie freta vincta tenes,2 et in aequore piscis
inclusus tecta saepe natavit aqua,
nee tibi sunt fontes, laticis nisi paene marini,
qui potus dubium sistat alatne sitim.
rara, neque haec felix, in aperlis eminet arvis
20 arbor, et in terra est altera forma maris.
1 habent : habet r 8 vides
372
BOOK III
I. To HIS WIFE
0 sea first lashed by Jason's oars, O land never
free from cruel enemies and snows, will a time ever
come when I, Naso, shall leave you, bidden to an
exile in a place less hostile ? Or must I ever live in
such a barbaric land, am I destined to be laid in my
grave in the soil of Tomis ? With peace from thee l
— if any peace thou hast — O land of Pontus, ever
trodden by the swift horses of a neighbouring foe,
— with peace from thee would I say : thou art the
worst element in my hard exile, thou dost increase
the weight of my misfortunes. Thou neither feelest
spring girt with wreaths of flowers nor beholdest
the reaper's naked bodies ; to thee autumn extends
no clusters of grapes ; but all seasons are in the
grip of excessive cold. Thou holdest the flood
ice-bound, and in the sea the fishes often swim
in water enclosed beneath a roof. Thou hast no
springs except those almost of sea water ; quaff them,
and doubt whether thirst is allayed or increased.
Seldom is there a tree — and that unproductive —
rising in the open fields, and the land is but the sea
1 A bitter pun on the literal meaning of pax and its
meaning in the phrase tua pace, " by thy leave.
373
OVID
non avis obloquitur, silvis nisi siqua remota 1
aequoreas rauco gutture potat aquas,
tristia per vacuos horrent absinthia campos,
conveniensque suo rnessis amara loco.
25 adde metus, et quod murus pulsatur ab hoste,
tinctaque mortifera tabe sagitta madet,
quod procul haec regio est et ab omni devia cursu,
nee pede quo quisquam nee rate tutus eat.
non igitur mirum, finem quaerentibus horum
30 altera si nobis usque rogatur humus.
te magis est mirum non hoc evincere, coniunx,
inque meis lacrimas posse tenere mails,
quid facias, quaeris ? quaeras hoc scilicet ipsum,
invenies, vere si reperire voles.
35 velle parum est : cupias, ut re potiaris, oportet,
et faciat somnos haec tibi cura breves,
velle reor multos : quis enim mini tarn sit iniquus,
optet ut exilium pace carere meum ?
pectore te toto cunctisque incumbere nervis
40 et niti pro me nocte dieque decet.
utque iuvent alii, tu debes vincere amicos,
uxor, et ad partis prima venire tuas.
magna tibi imposita est nostris persona libellis :
coniugis exemplum diceris esse bonae.
45 hanc cave degeneres. ut sint praeconia nostra
vera, vide famae quod tuearis opus,
ut nihil ipse querar, tacito me fama queretur,
quae debet, fuerit ni tibi cura mei.
exposuit memet populo Fortuna videndum,
60 et plus notitiae, quam fuit ante, dedit.
1 nisi silvis siqua remotis corr. Ehwald
374
EX PONTO, III. i. 21-50
in another guise. No note is there of any bird save
such as remote in the forests drink the brackish
water with raucous throat. Bitter wormwood bristles
throughout the empty plains, a crop suited in harsh-
ness to its site. Add fears too — the wall assailed by
the enemy, the darts soaked in death-dealing cor-
ruption, the distance of this spot from all traffic, to
which none can penetrate in safety either on foot or
by boat.
29 No wonder then if I seek an end of this and beg
constantly for another land. Tis a greater wonder
that thou, my wife, dost not prevail in this, that
thou canst restrain thy tears at my misfortunes.
What art thou to do, thou askest ? Ask thyself this
very question ; thou wilt discover, if thou hast true
will to find it out. To wish is not enough ; thou
shouldst have a passion to win thy end, and this care
should make thy slumber brief. Many, I think, wish
it ; for who can be so hard upon me as to desire my
place of exile to be severed from peace ? With thy
wrhole heart, with every sinew thou shouldst work and
strive for me night and day. And to have others aid
me thou shouldst win our friends, my wife, and come
foremost thyself to support thy part.
43 Great is the role imposed upon thee in my books :
thou art called the model of a good wife. Beware
thou fallest not from that : that I may have pro-
claimed the truth, look to the work that fame has
wrought and guard it well. Though I myself make
no complaint, whilst I am dumb fame will complain,
as she ought, shouldst thou not have regard for me.
Fortune has set me forth to be viewed of all the people,
she has given me more celebrity than I had of yore.
375
OVID
notior est factus Oapaneus a fulminis ictu :
notus humo mersis Amphiaraus equis.
si minus errasset, notus minus esset Ulixes :
magna Philoctetae vulnere fama suo est.
55 si locus est aliquis tanta inter nomina parvis,
nos quoque conspicuos nostra ruina facit.
nee te nesciri patitur mea pagina, qua non
inferius Coa Bittide l nomen habes.
quicquid ages igitur, scaena spectabere magna,
60 et pia non paucis 2 testibus uxor eris.
crede mihi, quotiens laudaris carmine nostro,
qui legit has laudes, an mereare rogat.
utque favere reor plures virtutibus istis,
sic tua non paucae carpere facta volent.
65 quarum tu praesta ne livor dicere possit
" haec est pro miseri lenta salute viri."
cumque ego denciam, nee possim ducere currum,
fac tu sustineas debile sola hi gum.
ad medicum specto venis fugientibus aeger :
70 ultima pars animae dum mihi res tat, ades ;
quodque ego praestarem, si te magis ipse valerem,
id mihi, cum valeas fortius ipsa, refer,
exigit hoc socialis amor foedusque maritum :
moribus hoc, coniunx, exigis ipsa tuis.
75 hoc domui debes, de qua censeris, ut illam
non magis officiis quam probitate colas,
cuncta licet facias, nisi eris laudabilis uxor,
non poterit credi Marcia culta tibi.
1 bit tibi de etc. corr. Merkel 2 parvis
1 The house of the Fabii.
2 The wife of Fabius Maximus, cf. Ex P. i. 2. 139.
376
EX PONTO, III. i. 51-78
Capaneus was made more famous by the lightning's
shock ; Amphiaraus achieved fame when his steeds
were swallowed up in the earth. If Ulysses had
wandered less, he would have been less famous ;
Philoctetes' great name is due to his wound. If
there is some place among such mighty names for
the humble, I too am become a man of mark by
reason of my fall.
57 And thou art not permitted by my pages to be
unknown ; thou hast a name not inferior to that of
Coan Bittis. Whatever therefore thou shalt do,
thou shalt be viewed upon a mighty stage, thou shalt
be to many witnesses a loyal wife. I assure thee, as
often as thou art praised in my verse, he who reads
the praise asks whether thou dost deserve it. And
just as many, I think, approve such virtues, so women
not a few will seek shortcomings in thy deeds. 'Tis
for thee to make sure their jealousy can never say,
" This is she who is indifferent to her wretched
husband's safety ! "
67 Since I am failing, no longer able to draw the car,
see that thou dost alone support the weakening yoke.
I am a sick man, gazing with failing pulse upon the
doctor ; while the last of life remains to me, stand by
to help ; and what I would myself supply, were I
stronger than thou, that grant to me since thou art
thyself the stronger. This is demanded by our
united love and marriage compact ; this, my wife,
thou dost demand by virtue of thine own character.
This thou dost owe to the house l by which thou hast
thy esteem, that thou mayst cherish it not more in
duty than in uprightness. Thou mayst do all things,
but unless thou shalt be a praiseworthy wife, it will
not be believed that thou hast honoured Marcia.2
377
OVID
nee sumus indigni : nee, si vis vera fateri,
80 debetur meritis gratia nulla meis.
redditur ilia quidem grandi cum faenore nobis,
nee te, si cupiat, laedere rumor habet.
sed tamen hoc factis adiunge prioribus unum,
pro nostris ut sis ambitiosa malis.
85 ut minus infesta iaceam regione labora,
clauda nee officii pars erit ulla tui.
magna peto, sed non tamen invidiosa roganti :
utque ea non teneas, tuta repulsa tua est.
nee mini suscense,1 totiens, si carmine nostro,
90 quod facis, ut facias, teque imitere, rogo.
fortibus adsuevit tubicen prodesse, suoque
dux bene pugnantis incitat ore viros.
nota tua est probitas testataque tempus in omne ;
sit virtus etiam non probitate minor.
95 non tibi Amazonia est pro me sumenda securis,
aut excisa levi pelta gerenda manu.
numen adorandum est, non ut mihi fiat amicum,
sed sit ut iratum, quam fuit ante, minus,
gratia si nulla est, lacrimae tibi gratia fient.
100 hac potes aut nulla parte movere deos.
quae tibi ne desint, bene per mala nostra cavetur :
meque viro flendi copia dives adest ;
utque meae res sunt, omni, puto, tempore flebis,
has fortuna tibi nostra ministrat2 opes.
105 si mea mors redimenda tua, quod abominor, esset,
Admeti coniunx, quam sequereris, erat.
aemula Penelopes fieres, si fraude pudica
instantis velles fallere nupta procos.
1 succense 2 ministret
1 The shield was shaped somewhat like a crescent, one
side being indented.
a Aicestis.
378
EX PONTO, III. i. 79-108
79 Nor am I unworthy, and if thou art willing to
confess the truth, some return is owed to my services.
That return thou dost indeed make to me with usury,
nor could rumour, even if she should wish, injure thee.
But none the less add this one thing to thy previous
deeds : be the canvasser for my misfortunes. Toil
that I may rest in a less hostile region and no part of
thy duty will halt. Great is my request, yet not one
that brings odium on the petitioner ; shouldst thou
not attain it, thy defeat involves no danger. And be
not wroth with me if so many times in my song I ask
thee to do what thou art already doing and to
imitate thyself. The brave have often been helped
by the trumpeter, and the general urges on with his
own lips men who are fighting well. Thy probity is
known and witnessed for all time ; let thy courage
too be not inferior to thy probity. Thou hast not to
take up in my behalf the Amazon's battle-axe nor
bear with thy frail hand the indented l target. Thou
has to implore a deity, not to become friendly to me,
but less angry than heretofore. If grace thou findest
not, tears shall win thee grace ; by this or by no
means canst thou move the gods. That they will
not fail thee is well assured by my misfortunes ;
with me as husband of tears thou hast rich store ;
and as things are with me thou wilt weep, I think, at
all times— these are the means that my fortune
renders to thee. If thou hadst to redeem my death
at the price of thine own — away with the thought ! —
Admetus' wife 2 would be a model to follow. Thou
wouldst become a rival of Penelope if by chaste
deceit thou, a bride, shouldst wish to beguile insistent
379
OVID
si comes extinct! Manes sequerere mariti,
110 esset dux facti Laodamia tui.
Ipbias ante oculos tibi erat ponenda volenti
corpus in accensos mittere forte rogos.
morte nihil opus est, nihil Icariotide tela.
Caesaris est coniunx ore precanda tuo,
115 quae praestat virtute sua, ne prisca vetustas
laude pudicitiae saecula nostra premat :
quae Veneris formam, mores lunonis habendo
sola est caelesti digna reperta toro.
quid trepidas et adire times ? non impia Procne
120 filiave Aeetae voce movenda tua est,
nee nurus Aegypti, nee saeva Agamemnonis uxor,
Scyllaque, quae Siculas inguine terret aquas,
Telegonive par ens vertendis nata figuris,
nexaque nodosas angue Medusa comas,
125 femina sed princeps, in qua Fortuna videre
se probat et caecae crimina falsa tulit :
qua nihil in terris ad finem solis ab ortu
clarius excepto Caesare mundus habet.
eligito tempus captatum saepe rogandi,
130 exeat adversa ne tua navis aqua.
non semper sacras reddunt oracula sortis,
ipsaque non omni tempore fana patent,
cum status urbis erit, qualem nunc auguror esse,
et nullus populi contrahet ora dolor,
135 cum domus Augusti, Capitoli more colenda,
laeta, quod est et sit, plenaque pacis erit,
turn tibi di faciant adeundi copia fiat,
profectura aliquid turn tua verba putes.
1 Penelope, daughter of Icarius. 2 Medea.
8 A Danaid, i.e. one who slew her husband.
4 Clytaemestra. 6 Circe.
S80
EX PONTO, III. i. 109-138
suitors. If thou shouldst follow thy dead husband to
the shades Laodamia would guide thee in thy deed.
Iphias would have to be kept before thine eyes,
shouldst thou wish to hurl thyself bravely upon the
kindled pyre. But thou hast no need of death, no
need of the Icarian woman's l web ; thy lips must
pray to Caesar's spouse, who by her virtue gives
surety that the olden time conquers not our age in
praise of chastity ; who, with the beauty of Venus, the
character of Juno, has been found alone worthy to
share the divine couch. Why dost tremble and fear
to approach her ? No impious Procne nor daughter 2
of Aeetes must needs be touched by thy words, nor
daughter-in-law 8 of Aegyptus, nor cruel wife 4 of
Agamemnon, nor Scylla, terrifying with her loins the
waters of Sicily, nor mother 5 of Telegonus, born
with the power to transform human shape, nor
Medusa, with locks bound and snarled with serpents,
but the foremost of women, who proves that Fortune
has the power of sight and has falsely borne the
charge of blindness ; than whom the universe holds
nothing more illustrious from the sun's rising to his
setting, save only Caesar. Choose well the time,
already oft essayed, to make thy petition, lest thy
bark put forth into an adverse sea. Not always do
oracles give forth their holy prophecies, not at all
times are even the shrines open. When the condi-
tion of the city shall be such as I divine it now to be,
and no sorrow brings a frown upon the people's brow,
when Augustus's house, to be revered as it were the
Capitol, shall be happy — as now, I pray, and ever —
and filled with peace, then may the gods grant thee
an opportunity to approach, then thou mayst believe
that thy words will be of some avail. If she is busy
381
OVID
siquid aget maius, differ tua coepta caveque
140 spem festinando praecipitare meam.
nee rursus iubeo dum sit vacuissima quaeras :
corporis ad curam vix vacat ilia sui.
omnia
per rerum turbam tu quoque oportet eas.
145 cum tibi contigerit vultum lunonis adire,
fac sis personae, quam tueare, memor.
nee factum defende meum : mala causa silenda est.
nil nisi sollicitae sint tua verba preces.
turn lacrimis demenda mora est, summissaque terra l
150 ad non mortalis brachia tende pedes.
turn pete nil aliud, saevo nisi ab hoste recedam ;
hostem Fortunam sit satis esse mihi.
plura quidem subeunt, sed conturbata 2 timore
haec quoque vix poteris voce tremente loqui.
155 suspicor hoc damno fore non tibi. sentiet ilia
te maiestatem pertimuisse suam.
nee, tua si fletu scindentur verba, nocebit :
interdum lacrirnae pondera vocis habent.
lux etiam coeptis facito bona talibus adsit
160 horaque conveniens auspiciumque favens.
sed prius imposito sanctis altaribus igni
tura fer ad magnos vinaque pura deos.
e quibus ante omnis Augustum numen adora
progeniemque piam participemque tori.
165 sint utinam mites soli to tibi more tuasque
non duris lacrimas vultibus aspiciant.
1 terrae 2 sunt turbata : conturbata T
1 In 1. 143 the good manuscripts preserve only the word
omnia. A stopgap appears in the later ones, curia cum
patribus fuerit stipata verendis, ** when the senate-house is
crowded with the revered fathers."
382
EX PONTO, III. i. 139-166
with something of greater import, put off thy purpose
and beware of ruining my hope through haste. Nor
again do I bid thee seek a time when she is wholly
idle — she scarce has leisure for the care of her own
person . . .l thou too shouldst follow amid the throng
of affairs.
145 When it shall befall thee to approach the coun-
tenance of Juno, see that thou dost maintain the part
thou hast to play. Defend not my deed : an ill
cause admits no speech. Let thy words be naught
but sorrowing petitions. Then must thou release
the barrier of tears, sink to the earth, and stretch
forth thy arms towards those immortal feet. Then
ask nothing except that I may withdraw from the
neighbourhood of a fierce enemy ; let Fortune for
me be enemy enough. More comes into my mind,
but confused with fear even this thou wilt scarce be
able to utter with stammering voice. This I think
will not harm thee. She will perceive thy dread of
her majesty and if thy words are broken by sobbing
it will do no harm ; for tears sometimes have the
weight of spoken words.
169 See also that thou hast a lucky day for such an
enterprise and a suitable hour and favouring omens.
But first kindle a fire upon the holy altar, offer incense
and pure wine to the great gods. Of them all and
before all worship the deity of Augustus, his loyal
offspring and his consort. May they be propitious
to thee in their wonted fashion, and view thy tears
with kindly countenances.
383
OVID
II
Quam legis a nobis missam tibi, Cotta, salutem,
missa sit ut vere perveniatque, precor.
namque meis sospes multum cruciatibus aufers,
atque1 sit in2 nobis pars bona salva facis.
5 curnque labent aliqui iactataque vela relinquant,
tu lacerae remanes ancora sola rati.
grata tua est igitur pietas. ignoscimus illis,
qui cum Fortuna terga dedere fugae.
cum feriant unum, non unum fulmina terrent,
10 iunctaque percusso turba pavere solet :
cumque dedit paries venturae signa ruinae,
sollicito vacuus fit locus ille metu.
quis non e timidis aegri contagia vitat,
vicinum metuens ne trahat inde malum ?
16 me quoque amicorum nimio terrore metuque,
non odio, quidam destituere mei.
non illis pietas, non officiosa voluntas
defuit : adversos extimuere deos.
utque magis cauti possunt timidique videri,
20 sic appellari non meruere mali.
aut 3 meus excusat caros ita candor amicos,
utque habeant de me crimina nulla, favet.
sint hi contenti venia, iactentque 4 licebit
purgari factum me quoque teste suum.
25 pars estis pauci melior, qui rebus in artis
ferre mihi nullam turpe putastis opem.
tune igitur meriti morietur gratia vestri,
cum cinis absumpto corpore factus ero.
1 utque * sit in] ut sit vel sit ut
8 aut] ut vel at vel et
4 sientque vel signentque vel fugiantque corr. Korn
384
EX PONTO, III. n. 1-28
II. To COTTA
The "Health,"1 Cotta, of my sending which you
read here, may it, I pray, be sent in truth and reach
you. For your weal takes away much from my
sufferings, causing a good part of me to be well.
When many fall away and abandon the storm-blown
sails, you remain the sole anchor of the shattered
bark. Grateful, therefore, is your loyalty. I pardon
those who along with Fortune have betaken them-
selves to flight. Though they smite but one, not one
alone do the lightnings affright, and the throng
around the stricken ever quakes with fear. When
a wall has given warning of its coming fall, anxiety
and fear empty the place. What timid man does not
avoid contact with the sick, fearing lest he contract
a disease so near ? I too because of the excessive
dread and alarm of my friends, not because of their
hatred, was abandoned by some. They lacked not
loyalty, nor the will to duty ; they dreaded the
hostile gods. They can be deemed too cautious and
timid, yet they have not deserved to be called wicked.
Or else my charity pardons friends who are dear to
me and favours them so much that from me they bear
no blame. Let them be content with this indulgence
and they shall be free to boast that their act is
justified even by my testimony.
25 But you few are a better group, who in my straits
thought it base to offer me no aid. So then will my
gratitude for your merit die when my body shall be
1 Referring to the regular opening formula of Roman
letters : S.D. (salutem dicit) or S.P.I), (salutem plurtmam
dicit).
fee 385
OVID
fallor, et ilia meae superabit tempera vitae,
30 si tamen a memori posteritate legar.
corpora debentur maestis exsanguia bustis :
eftugiunt structos nomen honorque rogos.
occidit et Theseus et qui comitavit Oresten :
sed tamen in laudes vivit uterque suas.
35 vos etiam seri laudabunt saepe nepotes,
claraque erit scrip tis gloria vestra meis.
hie quoque Sauromatae iam vos novere Getaeque,
et tales animos barbara turba probat.
cumque ego de vestra nuper probitate referrem
40 (nam didici Getice Sarmaticeque loqui),
forte senex quidam, coetu cum staret in illo,
reddidit ad nostros talia verba sonos :
" nos quoque amicitiae nomen, bone, novimu
hospes,
quos procul a vobis Pontus et Hister l habet.
45 est locus in Scythia, Tauros dixere priores,
qui Getica longe non ita distat humo.
hac ego sum terra (patriae nee paenitet) ortus :
consortem Phoebi gens colit ilia deam,
templa manent hodie vastis innixa columnis,
50 perque quater denos itur in ilia gradus.
fama refert illic signum caeleste fuisse :
quoque minus dubites, stat basis orba dea :
araque, quae fuerat natura Candida saxi,
decolor adfuso tincta cruore rubet.
65 femina sacra facit taedae non nota iugali,
quae superat Scythicas nobilitate nurus.
sacrifici genus est, sic instituere parentes,
advena virgineo caesus ut ense cadat.
1 Pontus et HistcrJ barbarus ister, etr.
386
EX PONTO, III. n. 29-58
consumed to ashes — I am wrong : it will outlive the
span of my life, if after all posterity shall remember
and read me. The bloodless body is destined for the
mournful tomb ; name and honour escape the high-
built pyre. Death befell even Theseus and him l
who accompanied Orestes, but yet each still lives to
his own renown. You too shall oft be praised by late-
born descendants and bright shall be your fame by
reason of my writings. Even here the Sauromatians
and the Getae already know you ; such a spirit as
yours finds favour with the barbarian throng. And
when of late I was telling of your uprightness (for I
have learned how to speak Getic and Sarmatian), it
chanced that an aged man, standing in the circle,
made this reply upon hearing my words, " We too,
good stranger, are acquainted with friendship's name
— we whom the Pontus and the Hister separate from
you and your people. There is a place in Scythia —
men before us called it Tauri — not so far from the
Getic soil. In that land was I born and I am not
ashamed of my country. The people worship
Phoebus 's companion goddess. The temple exists
to-day with its huge columns ; by two score steps one
enters. The story goes that there was once an image
of the deity and, to remove your doubts, still stands
the pedestal bereft of the goddess, and the altar,
once white from the natural colour of the stone, is
discolored and red with stains from outpoured blood.
A woman who has not known the torch of marriage,
offers the sacrifices — who surpasses in birth the
daughters of Scythia. The nature of the sacrifice —
so our forefathers ordained — is that strangers fall,
slain by the maiden's sword. Thoans ruled the
1 Pylades.
387
OVID
regna Thoans habuit Maeotide clams in ora,
60 nee fuit Euxinis notior alter aquis.
sceptra tenente illo liquidas fecisse per auras
nescioquam dicunt Iphigenian iter.
quam levibus ventis sub nube per aethera l vectam
creditur his Phoebe deposuisse locis.
65 praefuerat templo multos ea rite per annos,
invita peragens tristia sacra manu :
cum duo velifera iuvenes venere carina
presseruntque suo litora nostra pede.
par fuit his aetas et amor, quorum alter Orestes,
70 alter erat Py lades 2 : nomina fama tenet,
protinus inmitem Triviae ducuntur ad aram,
evincti geminas ad sua terga manus.
spargit aqua captos lustrali Graia sacerdos,
ambiat ut fulvas infula longa comas.
75 dumque parat sacrum, duni velat tempora vittis,
dum tardae causas invenit ipsa morae,
' non ego crudelis, iuvenes, (ignoscite) ' dixit
1 sacra suo facio barbariora loco,
ritus is est gentis. qua vos tamen urbe venitis ?
80 quodve parum fausta puppe petistis iter ? '
dixit, et audito patriae pia nomine virgo
consortes urbis comperit esse suae.
' alter ut e vobis ' inquit * cadat hostia sacris,
ad patrias sedes nuntius alter eat.'
86 ire iubet Pylades carum periturus Oresten ;
hie negat, inque vices pugnat uterque mori.
extitit hoc unum, quo non convenerit illis :
cetera par3 concors et sine lite fuit.
dum peragunt pulchri iuvenes certamen amoris
90 ad fratrem scriptas exarat ilia notas.
1 aequora vel aera : aethera <T
2 alter et est pilades vel et pylades alter
388
EX PONTO, III. n. 59-90
kingdom, illustrious in the Maeotian land ; no other
was better known to the Euxine's waters. Whilst
he held the sceptre they say that a certain Iphigenia
journeyed through the clear air. Her, carried by
light breezes through the ether, beneath the shelter
of a cloud, Phoebe established, so it is believed, in
this region. Duly had she presided over the temple
for many years, carrying out the gloomy rites with un-
willing hand, when on a sail-bearing ship two youths
arrived and set foot on our shores. Equal they were
in youth and love, one Orestes, the other Pylades :
fame holds fast their names. Forthwith were they
led to Trivia's cruel altar, hands bound behind their
backs. With lustral water the Grecian priestess
sprinkled the captives that the long fillet might
encircle their yellow locks. While she prepared the
sacrifice, while she veiled their temples with the bands,
while she found pretexts for lingering delay, * It is
not I,' she said, ' youths, who am cruel ; grant me
pardon. I perform sacrifices more barbarous than
the land to which they belong. Tis the rite of the
people. Yet — from what city come ye ? On what
journey have ye come in your ill-starred ship ? '
Thus spake the pious girl, and when she heard the
name of her native land, she discovered that they
were dwellers in her own city. ' Let one of you,'
she said, ' fall as a victim in these rites, let the other
go a messenger to the home of his fathers/ Pylades,
bent on death, bade his Orestes go. He refuses, and
each in turn fights to die. On this alone they did
not agree : on all else those twain were at one and
free from dispute. Whilst the fair youths carry on
their contest of love, to her brother she traces written
8 pars corr. Naugerius
889
OVID
ad fratrem rnandata dabat, cuique ilia dabantur
(humanos casus aspice !) frater erat.
ncc mora, de templo rapiunt simulacra Dianae,
clamque per inmensas puppe feruntur aquas.
95 mirus amor iuvenum : quamvis abiere tot anni,
in Scythia magnum nunc quoque nomen habent.'
fabula narrata est postquam vulgaris ab iilo,
laudarunt omnes facta piamque fidem.
scilicet hac etiam, qua nulla ferocior ora est,
100 nomen amicitiae barbara corda movet.
quid facere Ausonia geniti debetis in urbe,
cum tangant duros l talia facta Getas ?
adde quod est animus semper tibi mitis, et altae
indicium mores nobilitatis habent,
105 quos Volesus patrii cognoscat nominis auctor,
quos Numa maternus non neget esse suos.
adiectique probent genetiva ad nomina 2 Cottae,
si tu non esses, interitura domus.
digne vir hac serie, lapso 3 succurrere amico
110 conveniens istis moribus esse puta.
III.
Si vacat exiguum profugo dare iempus amieo,
o sidus Fabiae, Maxime, gentis, ades,
dum tibi quae vidi refero, seu corporis umbra
seu veri species seu fuit ille sopor.
5 nox erat et bifores intrabat luna fenestras,
mense fere medio quanta nitere solet.
publica me requies curarum somnus habebat,
fusaque erant toto languida membra toro,
1 diros 2 agnomina 8 lasso
390
EX PONTO, III. ii. 91— in. 8
letters. To her brother she was sending the missive
and he to whom it was given — behold the fate of
man ! — was in fact her brother !
93 « With no delay they snatch from the temple the
statue of Diana, and stealthily they are borne over
the trackless waters in their ship. A marvel was the
love of the youths : though so many years have
passed, in Scythia even now they have a great name."
97 After the telling of this well-known tale, all
praised acts of loyal devotion. 'Tis clear that even
on this shore, than which none is wilder, the name of
friendship affects barbarian hearts. What ought ye
to do, born in the Ausom'an city, when such deeds
move the stern Getae ? And besides you have ever
a gentle soul and, a token of your lofty birth, a
character which Volesus, the founder of your father's
name, would recognize, which Numa on your mother's
side would not refuse to own, and the Cottae, who
have been added to your natal name — a line that but
for your life would die out. O worthy of such a line,
deem it in harmony with such character to succour
a fallen friend !
III. To MAXIMUS
If you have a little leisure to devote to an exiled
friend, listen, Maximus, star of the Fabian race,
while I relate what I have seen, whether it was the
shadow of a body, the appearance of a reality, or
merely a dream.
5 Twas night. The moon was entering the double-
shuttered windows with all her accustomed mid-
month brightness. Sleep, the common rest from
cares, possessed me, my inert limbs stretched about
391
OVID
cum subito pinnis agitatus inhorruit aer,
10 et gemuit parvo mota fenestra sono.
tcrritus in cubitum relevo mea membra sinistrum,
pulsus et e trepido pectore somnus abit.
stabat Amor, vultu non quo prius esse solebat,
fulcra tenens laeva tristis acerna manu,
15 nee torquem collo, nee habens crinale capillo,
nee bene dispositas comptus, ut ante, comas,
horrida pendebant molles super ora capilli,
et visa est oculis horrida pinna meis,
qualis in aeriae tergo solet esse columbae,
20 tractatam multae quam tetigere manus.
hunc simul agnovi, neque enim mihi notior alter,
talibus adfata est libera lingua sonis :
" o puer, exilii decepto causa magistro,
quern fuit utilius non docuisse mihi,
25 hue quoque venisti, pax est ubi tempore nullo,
et coit adstrictis barbarus Hister aquis ?
quae tibi causa viae, nisi uti mala nostra vidcres ?
quae sunt, si nescis, invidiosa tibi.
tu mihi dictasti iuvenalia carmina primus :
30 apposui senis te duce quinque pedes.
nee me Maeonio consurgere carmine nee me
dicere magnorum passus es acta ducum.
forsitan exiguas, aliquas tamen, arcus et ignes *
ingenii vires comminuere mei.
35 namque ego dum canto tua regna tuaeque parentis
in nullum mea mens grande vacavit opus,
nee satis hoc fuerat. stulto 2 quoque carmine feci,
Artibus ut posses non rudis esse meis.
pro quibus exilium misero est mihi reddita merces,
40 id quoque in extremis et sine pace locis.
1 ignis 2 stultus
392
EX PONTO, III. in. 9-40
the couch, when on a sudden the air was vibrant with
the movement of wings and a slight creaking sound
arose as the window was moved. Startled I raised
myself upon my left elbow, and sleep was driven from
my trembling breast. There stood Love, not with
the face he used to have, sadly resting his left hand
upon the maple post, no necklace on his throat, no
ornament in his hair, his locks not carefully arranged
as of old. Over his unkempt face the soft hair was
drooping ; his feathers seemed to my eyes all un-
kempt, like those on the back of soaring dove which
many hands have touched and handled. As soon as
I recognized him — and none other is better known to
me — my tongue became free and addressed him in
in these words. " Boy, cause of thy master's exile,
whom it had been better for me not to teach, hast
thou come even hither where peace exists at no time,
where the waters of the wild Hister feel the bonds of
frost ? What reason hast thou for thy journey except
to view my misfortunes ? These, if thou knowest
it not, bring reproach upon thee. Thou wert the
first to dictate my youthful verse to me ; it was
under thy guidance that I set five feet after six.
Thou didst not allow me to reach the height of
Maeonian song l or to sing the deeds of mighty
chieftains. Slight perhaps, yet something, was the
strength of my talent, but thy bow and thy fires
brought weakness. For whilst I sang thy sway and
that of thy mother, my mind had room for no great
work. Nor was this all : by a foolish poem as well,
by my " Art," I caused thee to lose thy inexperience.
For this the reward of exile was meted out to
wretched me, and that too in a land far away and
1 Epic.
393
OVID
at non Chionides Eumolpus in Orphea talis,
in Phryga nee Satyrum talis Olympus erat,
praeinia nee Chiron ab Achille talia cepit,
Pythagoraeque ferunt non nocuisse Numam.
45 nomina neu referam longum collecta per aevum,
discipulo perii solus ab ipse meo.
dum damus arma tibi, dum te, lascive, docemus,
haec te discipulo dona magister habet.
scis tamen, et liquido iuratus dicere possis,
50 non me legitimos sollicitasse toros.
scripsimus haec illis, quarum nee vitta pudicos
contingit crines nee stola longa pedes.
die, precor, ecquando didicisti fallere nuptas,
et facere incertum per mea iussa genus ?
55 an sit ab his omnis rigide summota libellis,
quam lex furtivos arcet habere viros ?
quid tamen hoc prodest, vetiti si lege severa
credor adulterii composuisse notas ?
at tu, sic habeas ferientes cuncta sagittas,
60 sic numquam rapido lampades igne vacent,
sic regat imperium terrasque coerceat omnis
Caesar, ab Aenea qui tibi fratre tuus,1
effice, sit nobis non inplacabilis ira,
meque loco plecti commodiore velit."
65 haec ego visus eram puero dixisse volucri,
hos visus nobis ille dedisse sonos :
" per mea tela, faces, et per mea tela, sagittas,
per inatrem iuro Caesareumque caput,
nil nisi concessum nos te didicisse magistro,
70 Artibus et nullum crimen inesse tuis.
1 tuus] nepos
1 Orpheus instructed Eumolpus in the Eleusinian
mysteries.
2 Marsyas, who taught Olympus to play the pipes.
394
EX PONTO, III. m. 41-70
never at peace. Not so did Chionian Eumolpus
treat Orpheus,1 nor Olympus treat the Phrygian
Satyr,2 nor did Chiron receive such a reward from
Achilles, and they say that Numa did no harm to
Pythagoras. Not to repeat the names amassed
through the long ages — I am the only one who has
been ruined by his own pupil. Whilst 1 give arms
to thee, whilst I teach thee, wanton one, this is
the reward, with thee as pupil, that thy master has.
Yet thou knowest, and thou couldst swear it with a
clear conscience, that I have not disturbed lawful
wedlock. This I wrote for those who have no modest
locks to be touched with the fillet nor a long stole
descending to their feet.3 Speak, I beg thee — hast
thou at any time learned to deceive brides, rendering
descent uncertain by my precepts ? Or has not every
wo nan been strictly excluded from these books
whom the law protects from stealthy paramours ?
Yet of what avail is this if men believe that I have
composed directions for that adultery which is for-
bidden by stern laws ? But do thou — so mayst thou
possess arrows that smite all, so may thy torches
never lose their swift flame, so may Caesar, who
through thy brother Aeneas is thy kin, guide his
realm and control all lands — cause his wrath to be
not implacable against me, cause him to be willing
that I be punished in a better place/'
65 Thus methought I spoke to the winged boy, in
these words methought he answered me, " By my
weapons, the torch and arrows, by my mother I
swear, and by Caesar's head, that I have learned
naught but what is lawful from thy mastership, that
there resides no crime in thine * Art.' As I defend
8 i.e. for courtesans, not matrons, cf. Tr. ii. 245 ff.
395
OVID
utque hoc, sic utinam defendere cetera possem l !
scis aliud, quod te laeserit, esse, magis.
quicquid id est (neque enim debet dolor ipse referri,
nee potes a culpa dicere abesse tua)
75 tu licet erroris sub imagine crimen obumbres,
non gravior merito iudicis 2 ira fuit.
ut tamen aspicerem consolarerque iacentem,
lapsa per inmensas est mea pinna vias.
haec loca turn primum vidi, cum matre rogante
80 Phasias est telis fixa puella meis.
quae nunc cur iterum post saecula longa revisam,
tu facis, o castris miles amice meis.
pone metus igitur : mitescet Caesaris ira,
et veniet votis mollior hora tuis.
85 neve moram timeas, tempus, quod quaerimus, instat,
cunctaque laetitiae plena triumphus habet.
dum domus et nati. dum mater Livia gaudet,
dum gaudes, patriae rnagne ducisque pater,
dum sibi gratatur populus, totamque per urbem
90 omnis odoratis ignibus ara calet,
dum faciles aditus praebet venerabilc templum,3
sperandum est nostras posse valere preces."
dixit, et aut ille est tenues dilapsus in auras,
coeperunt sensus aut vigilare mei.
95 si dubitem, faveas quin his, o Maxime, dictis,
Mcmnonio cycnos esse colore putem.
sed neque mutatur 4 nigra pice lacteus humor,
nee, quod erat candens, fit terebinthus ebur.
1 posses * vinSicis
8 templum] tempus vel numen 4 fuscatur
1 Medea.
2 The triumph of Tiberius over Germany, Jan. 16, A.D. 13.
3 Memnon as an Ethiopian was conceived to be black.
396
EX PONTO, 111. in. 7i-yo
thee on this score, would I could on the rest ! Thou
knowest there is another thing that has injured thee
more. Whatever this is (for neither should the
painful tale itself be repeated nor canst thou say that
thou art free from guilt), though thou dost veil
thy crime under the guise of ' error ' the wrath of the
judge was not too severe. However, to look upon
thee, to console thee downcast, my wings have
glided over measureless ways. This region I first
saw when at my mother's request I pierced the
Phasian maiden l with my darts. The reason for my
second visit now, after long ages, is in thee, friendly
soldier of my own camp. So put aside thy fears ;
Caesar 's wrath will soften, a gentler hour will be
vouchsafed to thy prayers. Fear not delay ; the
time we seek is close at hand ; the triumph 2 fills
everything with joy. While the house and the
children, while their mother Livia rejoices, while
thou, great father of our land and of our leader, dost
rejoice, while the people congratulate themselves,
and throughout the city every altar burns with
fragrant flames, while the holy temple affords an easy
approach, we may hope that our prayers can have
some effect."
93 He spoke and glided away into thin air or else
my own senses began to awaken.
95 Were I to doubt your favour for these words,
Maximus, I should believe that swans are the
colour of Memnon.3 But milk is not changed to
black pitch nor does shining ivory become terebinth.
397
OVID
conveniens animo genus est tibi, nobile namque
100 pectus et Herculeae simplicitatis habes.
livor, iners vitium, mores non exit in altos,
utque latens ima vipera serpit humo.
mens tua sublirnis supra genus eminet ipsum,
grandius ingenio nee tibi nomen inest.
105 ergo alii noceant miseris optentque timeri,
tinctaque mordaci spicula felle gerant :
at tua supplicibus domus est adsueta iuvandis,
in quorum numero me, precor, esse velis.
IV.
Haec tibi non vanam portantia verba salutem
Naso Tomitana mittit ab urbe tuus,
utque suo faveas mandat, Rufine, Triumpho,
in vestras venit si tamen ille manus.
6 est opus exiguum vestrisque paratibus inpar :
quale tamen cumque est, ut tueare, rogo.
firma valent per se, nullumque Machaona quaerunt.
ad medicam dubius confugit aeger opem.
non opus est magnis placido lectore poetis :
10 quamlibet l invitum difficilemque tenent.
nos, quibus ingenium longi minuere labores,
aut etiam nullum forsitan ante fuit,
viribus infirmi, vestro candore valemus :
quern 2 mihi si demas, omnia rapta putem.
15 cunctaque cum mea sint propenso nixa favore,
praecipuum veniae ius habet ille liber.
1 quemlibet corr. r a quod
1 The Fabii claimed descent from Hercules, the protector
of the oppressed.
2 Perhaps Ex P. ii. 1 , the poem on the triumph of Tiberius,
398
EX PONTO, 111. m. yy— iv. iu
Birth suited to your spirit is yours, for you have a
noble breast, with the candour of Hercules.1 Envy,
the vice of cowardice, enters not into lofty character,
but creeps like a hidden snake along the ground.
Your mind towers aloft above even your birth, for
your name is not greater than your character. So
let others injure the wretched and desire to be
feared ; let them carry missiles dipped in corroding
poison ; your house at least is used to assisting
suppliants. In their number, I beseech you, count
me also.
IV. To RUFINUS
These words that bring no empty greeting your
Naso sends from the town of Tomis, and he entrusts to
you the fostering of his " Triumph," 2 Rufinus, if after
all it has reached your hands. 'Tis a humble work,
not equal to your preparations,3 yet such as it is, he
requests for it your guardianship. Strong things
have powers of their own, and need no Machaon 4 ;
the sick man in his danger has recourse to the art of
healing. Great poets need no favouring reader :
they hold even the unwilling or him who is hard to
please. I, whose talent has been diminished by long
sorrows — or perhaps even of old I had no talent —
weakened now, am strong in your generosity ; if
you take that from me, I should deem all else torn
away. And though all my work rests upon kindly
favour, that poem has a special right to indulgence,
8 Others are included with Rufinus, cf. vestris (5), vestras
(4), vos (23). Great preparations, including poems, were
being made to celebrate the triumph, cf. 53 f.
* i.e. no physician.
S99
OVID
spectatum vates alii scripsere triumphum :
est aliquid memori visa notare manu.
nos ea vix avidam vulgo captata per aurem
20 scripsimus, atque oculi fama fuere mei.
scilicet adfectus similes, aut impetus idem
rebus ab auditis conspicuisque venit !
nee nitor argenti, quern vos vidistis, et auri
quod mihi defuerit, purpuraque ilia, queror :
25 sed loca, sed gentes formatae mille figuris
nutrissent carmen proeliaque ipsa meum,
et regum vultus, certissima pignora mentis,1
iuvissent aliqua forsitan illud opus,
plausibus ex ipsis populi laetoque favore
30 ingenium quodvis incaluisse potest :
tamque ego sumpsissem tali clamore vigorem,
quam rudis audita miles ad arma tuba,
pectora sint nobis nivibus glacieque licebit
atque hoc, quern patior, frigidiora loco,
35 ilia ducis facies in curru stantis eburno
excuteret frigus sensibus omne meis.
his ego defectus dubiisque auctoribus usus
ad vestri venio iure favoris opem.
nee mihi nota ducum nee sunt mihi nota locorum
40 nomina. materiam non habuere manus.
pars quota de tantis rebus, quarn fama referre
aut aliquis nobis scribere posset, erat ?
quo magis, o lector, debes ignoscere, si quid
erratum est illic praeteritumve mihi.
45 adde quod assidue domini meditata querellas
ad laetum carmen vix mea versa lyra est.
vix bona post tanto quaerenti verba subibant,
et gaudere aliquid res mihi visa nova est.
1 mentis] gen Us
400
EX PONTO, III. iv. 17-48
Other bards have seen the triumph they have
described — 'tis something to note with faithful
hand what one has seen — I have described what I
have caught with difficulty in an eager ear from
common hearsay ; rumour has been for me my eyes.
Forsooth the same passion, the same vigour comes
from what has been heard and from what has been
seen ! Not the absence of the gleaming silver or
gold that you have seen causes my complaint ; but
the places, the peoples in a thousand forms, the very
battles would have fed my verse — the countenances
of the kings, the surest indication of their souls,
would have aided, somehow perchance, that work.
29 From the very applause and glad approval of the
people any talent can catch the flame ; I should have
won vigour from such acclaim even as the raw recruit
when he hears the trumpet call to arms. Though
my breast be colder than snow or ice — colder even
than this land which I endure — the aspect of that
general standing in the ivory car would drive all cold
from my senses.
37 Lacking all this and using vague sources, rightly
do I resort to the aid of your favour. I know not the
names of the chieftains, I know not the names of the
places ; there was no material for my hands. How
small a part of such mighty events could rumour
bring me or some friend write ! The more then, my
reader, ought you to grant me pardon if I have erred
or omitted anything therein. Add too that my lyre
for ever conning its master's plaints could scarcely
turn to a song of rejoicing. Happy words after so
long a time responded with difficulty to my quest ;
to rejoice at anything seemed to me a new tiling, and
2D 401
OVID
utque reformidant insuetum lumina solem,
60 sic ad laetitiam mens mea segnis erat.
est quoque cunctarum novitas carissima * rerum,
gratiaque officio, quod mora tardat, abest.
cetera certatim de magno scrip La triumpho
iam pridem populi suspicor ore legi.
55 ilia bibit sitiens lector, mea pocula plenus :
ilia recens pota est, nostra tepebit aqua,
non ego cessavi, nee fecit inertia serum :
ultima me vasti sustinet ora freti.
dum venit hue rumor properataque carmina mint
60 factaque eunt ad vos, annus abisse potest.
nee minimum refert, intacta rosaria primus,
an sera carpas paene relicta manu.
quid mirum, lectis exhausto floribus horto,
si duce non facta est digna corona tuo 2 ?
65 deprecor hoc 3 : vatum 4 contra sua carmina ne quis
dicta putet ! pro se Musa locuta mea est.
sunt mihi vobiscum communia sacra, poetae,
in vestro miseris si licet esse choro.
magnaque pars anirnae mecum vixistis, amici :
70 hac ego vos absens nunc quoque parte colo.
sint igitur vestro mea commendata favore
carmina, non possum pro quibus ipse loqui.
scripta placent a morte fere, quia laedere vivos
livor et iniusto carpere dente solet.
75 si genus est mortis male vivere, terra moratur,
et desunt fatis sola sepulchra meis.
1 calidissima 2 suo corr. Owen
8 haec vel o 4 vates
402
EX PONTO, III. iv. 49-76
as eyes shrink before the sun to which they have been
unaccustomed, so towards joyousness my mind
moved slowly. Timeliness also is the most precious
of all things, and that homage which is delayed
receives no favour. Others have vied in writing of
the mighty triumph and for a long time now, I
suppose, the people have been reading them. These
things thirsty readers have drunk ; to my bowls they
come with thirst already slaked : that drink is fresh,
mine will be stale.
57 1 have not dallied, idleness has not made me
slow ; I am living on the most remote coast of the
vast sea. While news is coming to me and hasty
verse is being composed and when composed is
travelling to you, a year may pass. It matters not
a little whether one is first in the untouched rose-
garden or with late hand plucks blooms which have
been almost passed by. What wonder, when the
flowers have been gathered until the garden is
stripped, if a chaplet has been twined not worthy of
your leader !
65 This I disavow : let no poet think these words
uttered in derogation of his verse ; my Muse has
but spoken in her own behalf. I have rites in
common with you, ye poets — if you allow the un-
fortunate a place in your guild. Your life with me
was a great part of my soul, my friends ; even now
in absence I continue thus to cherish you. Do you
then grant the favour of your commendation to verse
for which I cannot plead myself. Writings oft find
favour after death, since malice is wont to injure the
living, gnawing with unjust tooth. If to live in
wretchedness is a kind of death, then earth is a
loiterer and my fate lacks only the tomb. In fine
403
OVID
denique opus curae culpetur ut undique nostrae,
officium nemo qui reprehendat erit.
ut desint vires, tamen est laudanda voluntas :
80 hac ego contentos auguror esse deos.
haec facit ut veniat pauper quoque gratus ad aras,
et placeat caeso non minus agna bove.
res quoque tanta fuit, quantae subsistere summo
Aeneadum 1 vati grande fuisset onus.
85 ferre etiam molles elegi tarn vasta triurnphi
pondera disparibus non potuere rotis.
quo pede nunc utar, dubia est sententia nobis :
alter enim de te, Rhene, triumphus adest.
inrita motorum 2 non sunt praesagia vatum :
90 danda lovi laurus, dum prior ilia viret.
nee mea verba legis, qui sum summotus ad Histrum.
non bene pacatis flumina pota Getis :
ista dei vox est, deus est in pectore nostro,
haec duce praedico vaticinorque deo.
95 quid cessas currum pompamque par are triumphis,
Li via ? dant nullas iam tibi bella moras.
perfida damnatas Germania proicit hastas.
iam pondus dices omen habere meum.
crede, brevique fides aderit. geminabit honorem
100 filius, et iunctis, ut prius, ibit equis.
prome, quod inicias umeris victorious, ostrum :
ipsa potest solitum nosse corona caput :
scuta sed et galeae gemmis radientur et auro,
stentque super vinctos 3 trunca tropaea viros :
1 enidos vel aenidos vel aeneidos corr. Ehwald
2 votorum corr. Heinsius 3 iunctos vel victos
1 Vergil. 2 Tiberius,
404
EX PONTO, III. iv. 77-104
though the result of my toil be everywhere dis-
approved, none will there be to blame my loyalty.
Even though I lack the strength, yet the will is
praiseworthy ; with this, I divine, the gods are con-
tent. This it is which makes even the poor man well
received when he approaches the altar, and a lamb
receives no less favour than a slaughtered ox.
83 The theme too was great enough to have formed
a heavy burden even for the mighty bard l of the
Aeneadae. Moreover frail couplets could not sup-
port the weight of so vast a triumph upon their
uneven wheels. What metre I am now to use I
am in doubt : for a second triumph is close at hand
over thee, O Rhine. The prophecies of inspired
bards are not empty : a laurel wreath is destined to
be given to Jupiter while that other is still green.
'Tis not my words you read — I am far away by the
Hister whose waters the wild Getae drink — 'tis the
voice of a god : a god is in my breast ; under a god's
inspiration I make this prophecy. Why dost thou
hesitate, Livia, to make ready a car and a procession
for a triumph ? Already the war grants thee no
delay. Traitorous Germany is casting away the
spears she has learned to hate. Soon thou wilt say
that my prophecy has weight. O believe ; soon
shall the proof be at hand. Thy son 2 shall double
his honour and shall advance, as before, with yoked
steeds. Bring forth the purple to throw upon the
victor's shoulders ; the chaplet of itself can recog-
nize the familiar brow ; but let shield and greaves
glitter with jewels and gold, and trophies stand
upreared 3 above the enchained men. Let towns
3 Trunca, because trophies were originally fastened to a
tree whose branches had been lopped.
405
OVID
105 oppida turritis cingantur eburnea muris,
fictaque res vero more putetur agi.
squalidus inmissos fracta sub harundine crines
Rhenus et infectas sanguine portet aquas,
barbara iam capti poscunt insignia reges
110 textaque fortuna divitiora sua,
et quae praeterea virtus invicta tuorum
saepc parata tibi, saepe paranda facit.
di, quorum monitu sumus eventura locuti,
verba, precor, celeri nostra probate fide.
V.
Quam legis, unde tibi mittatur epistula, quaeris ?
hinc, ubi caeruleis iungitur Hister aquis.
ut regio dicta est, succurrere debet et auctor,
laesus ab ingenio Naso poeta suo.
5 qui tibi, quam mallet praesens adferre salutem,
mittit ab hirsutis, Maxime Cotta, Getis.
legimus, o iuvenis patrii non degener oris,
dicta tibi pleno verba diserta foro.
quae quamquam lingua mihi sunt proper ante per horas
10 lecta satis multas, pauca fuisse queror.
plura sed haec feci relegendo saepe, nee umquam
non mihi, quam primo, grata fuere magis.
cumque nihil [ totiens lecta 2 e dulcedine perdant,
viribus ilia suis, non novitate, placent.
15 felices quibus haec ipso cognoscere in actu
et tam facundo contigit ore frui !
nam, quamquam sapor est adlata dulcis in unda,
gratius ex ipso fonte bibuntur aquae.
1 nihil] sua a lecta] nihil
406
EX PONTO, III. iv. 105— v. 18
of ivory be girdled with turreted walls, and the
pretence be so real as to seem true. Let squalid
Rhenus with locks trailing beneath broken rushes dis-
play waters dyed with blood. Already captive kings
are calling for barbarian adornment, for a garb too rich
to become their fate, and all the other things which the
unconquered valour of thy sons has caused thee often
to prepare, and will cause thee often to prepare.
113 Ye gods, whose admonition inspires my prophecy
of events to come, justify my words, I pray, with a
speedy proof.
V. To MAXIMUS COTTA
Whence comes the letter that you read, you ask ?
From this place where Hister unites with the blue
waves. Soon as the place is named the writer too
should come before you — he whose own talent
injured him, Naso the poet. To you, Maximus Cotta,
to whom he would rather offer it face to face, he sends
a greeting from the land of the shaggy Getae.
7 I have read, O youth not untrue to your inherited
oratory, the eloquent words you uttered in a crowded
forum, and though my hurrying tongue has read them
for many an hour, yet is it my complaint that they
were few. But I have multiplied them by frequent
reading, and ever have they been more pleasing to
me than at first, and though they ^ lose by so much
reading nothing of their sweetness, 'tis by their force,
not their novelty, that they please. Happy they
who were vouchsafed to hear them at their delivery,
and to enjoy utterance so eloquent! For albeit
water that is brought to one tastes sweet, more
grateful is that which is drunk from the spring itself.
6 407
OVID
et magis adducto pomum decerpere ramo
20 quam de caclata sumere lance iuvat.
at nisi peccassem, nisi me mea Musa fugasset,
quod legi, tua vox exhibuisset opus,
utque fui solitus, sedissem forsitan unus
de centum iudex in tua verba viris,
25 maior et implesset praecordia nostra voluptas,
cum traherer dictis adnueremque tuis.
quern quoniam fatum patria vobisque l relictis
inter inhumanos maluit esse Getas,
quod licet, ut videar tecum magis esse, legenda 2
30 saepe, precor, studii pignora mitte tui,
exemploque meo, nisi dedignaris id ipsum,
utere, quod nobis rectius ipse dares.
namque ego, qui perii iam pridem, Maxime, vobis,
ingenio nitor non periisse meo.
35 redde vicem, nee rara tui monimenta laboris
accipiant nostrae, grata futura, manus.
die tamen, o iuvenis studiorum plene meorum,
ecquid ab his ipsis admoneare mei.
ecquid, ubi aut recitas factum modo carmen amicis,
40 aut, quod saepe soles, exigis ut recitent,
quaeror, ut 3 interdum tua mens, oblita quid nbsit,
nescio quid certe sentit abesse sui,
utque loqui multum de me praesente solebas,
nunc quoque Nasonis nomen in ore tuo est ?
45 ipse quidem Getico peream violatus ab arcu
(et sit periuri quam prope poena, vides)
te nisi momentis video paene omnibus absens.
gratia quod 4 menti quolibet ire licet.
nobis patriaque vel patria nobisque
8ut]et
1 Ovid had been a member of the Centumviral Court, cf.
Tr. ii. 93 f.
408
EX PONTO, III. v. 19 48
To draw down the branch and pluck the fruit gives
more pleasure than to take it from an engraved
salver. If I had not erred, if my Muse had never
exiled me, your own voice would have delivered to
me the work that I have read ; as I was wont, I
should perchance have sat as one of those hundred
judges intent upon your words,1 and a greater joy
would have filled my breast when I was drawn on and
with nods approved each phrase. But since Fate has
wished rather that I, leaving my country and you,
should dwell among the uncivilized Getae, that I may
seem the more to be with you — send for my reading
(this is possible) continual proofs, I beseech you,
of your study ; follow my example, unless you dis-
dain it, an example which you yourself with greater
right might give to me. For I, Maximus, who have
long been dead, strive by my talent to prove myself
not to be dead to you. Recompense me, and at no
rare intervals let the monuments of your toil come
into my hands to give me joy.
37 But tell me, my youthful friend, you who are
inspired with my own studies, if these very studies
bring you any remembrance of me. Whenever you
read to your friends a poem newly composed or, as
you are often wont to do, urge them to read, do
you miss me so that at times your mind, though
forgetful of what is lacking, yet feels at least some
part of it is gone ? As you used to talk often of me
in my presence, is Naso's name now also on your
lips ? As for me, may I die outraged by a Getic bow
— and you see how close my penalty if I prove false —
if I do not see you at almost every moment, absent
though I am. Grateful must we be that the heart
may go whithersoever it will. When in this way I
409
OVID
hac ubi perveni nulli cernendus in urbem,
50 saepe loquor tecum, saepe loquente fruor.
turn mihi difficile est, quam sit bene, dicere, quamque
Candida iudiciis ilia sit hora meis.
turn me, siqua fides, caelesti sede receptum
cum fortunatis suspicor esse deis.
55 rursus ubi hue redii, caelum superosque relinquo,
a Styge nee longe Pontica distat humus,
unde ego si fato nitor prohibente reverti,
spem sine profectu, Maxime, tolle mihi.
VI.
Naso suo (posuit nomen quam x paene !) sodali
mittit ab Kuxinis hoc breve carmen aquis.
at si cauta parum scripsisset dextra quis esses,
forsitan officio parta querella foret.
5 cur tarnen, hoc aliis tutum credentibus, unus,
appellent ne te carmina nostra. rogas ?
quanta sit in media dementia Caesaris ira,
si nescis, ex me certior esse potes.
huic ego, quam patior, nil possem demere poenae,
10 si iudex merit! cogerer esse mei.
non vetat ille sui quemquam meminisse sodalis,
nee prohibet tibi me scribere tequc mihi.
nee scelus admittas, si consoleris amicuni,
mollibus et verbis aspera fata leves.
15 cur, dum tuta times, facis ut reverentia talis
fiat in Augustos invidiosa deos ?
fulminis adflatos interdum vivere telis
vidimus et refici, non prohibente love.
1 quam] cui
410
EX PONTO, III. v. 49— vi. 18
have entered the city though none can see me, I
often converse with you, often enjoy your converse.
Then 'tis hard to say how happy I am, how bright I
think that hour. Then, if you can credit it, I con-
ceive myself harboured in heaven's abode, dwelling
with the blessed gods. Again when I have returned
hither I leave behind heaven and the gods above ;
the land of the Pontus is hard by the Styx. If
my struggle to return from it is against the behest
of fate, then, Maximus, take from me a fruitless
hope.
VI. To A FRIEND
Naso sends to his friend — how nearly did he name
him ! — this bit of verse from the waters of the Euxine.
But if with too little caution his hand had written
who you were, perchance the tribute would have
earned a complaint. Yet why, when others believe
it safe, do you alone ask me not to address you in my
verse ? How great is Caesar's clemency even in the
midst of wrath, if you know it not, you may learn
from my case. From this punishment that I suffer I
could myself take away naught, were I forced to be
the judge of my own deserts. He does not forbid
anybody to mention a friend nor does he prevent me
from writing to you nor you to me. You would
commit no crime should you comfort your friend,
lightening with gentle words his harsh fate. Why,
fearful where no fear is, do you by such homage
bring discredit upon the Augustan gods ? Men
smitten by the lightning's bolt we have seen at times
live and recover, nor did Jupiter prevent. Because
411
OVID
nee, quia Neptunus navem lacerarat Ulixis,
20 Leucothea nanti ferre negavit opem.
crede mihi, miseris caelestia numina parcunt,
nee semper laesos et sine fine premunt.
principe nee nostro deus est moderatior ullus :
lustitia vires temperat ille suas.
25 nuper earn Caesar facto de marmore templo,
iampridem posuit mentis in aede suae.
luppiter in multos temeraria fulmina torquet,
qui poenam culpa non meruere pati.
obruerit cum tot saevis deus aequoris undis,
30 ex illis mergi pars quota digna fuit ?
cum pereant acie fortissima quaeque, vel ipso
iudice delectus 1 Martis iniquus erit.
at si forte velis in nos inquirere, nemo est
qui se, quod patitur, commeruisse neget.
35 adde quod extinctos vel aqua vel Marte vel igni
nulla potest iterum restituisse dies,
restituit multos aut poenae parte levavit
Caesar : et in multis me, precor, esse velit.
at tu, cum tali populus sub principe simus,
40 adloquio profugi credis inesse metum ?
forsitan haec domino Busiride iure timeres,
aut solito clausos urere in aere viros.
desine mitem animum vano infamare timore.
saeva quid in placidis saxa vereris aquis ?
45 ipse ego quod primo scripsi sine nomine vobis,
vix excusari posse mihi videor.
sed pavor attonito rationis ademerat usuni,
cesserat omne novis consiliumque malis,
1 dilectus
412
EX PONTO, III. vi. 19-48
Neptune had wrecked Ulysses' ship, Leucothea J did
not refuse to aid him as he swam. O believe me, the
deities of heaven are merciful to the wretched ; nor do
they always and endlessly oppress the stricken. And
no god is milder than our Prince, for Justice tempers
his strength. Her Caesar but recently installed in a
marble temple ; long ago he enshrined her in his
heart. Jupiter hurls at haphazard his bolts against
many who have by no fault deserved to suffer a
penalty. Albeit the god of the sea has overwhelmed
so many in the cruel waves, how small the number
deserving to be drowned ! When the bravest die in
battle, Mars' levy will be unjust even in his own judg-
ment. But if perchance you wish to question each one
of us,2 there is not one who would deny that he had
deserved his suffering. And those who have died at
sea, in war, by fire no day can restore. But Caesar
has restored many or lightened a part of their punish-
ment ; may it be his will that I too be one of these
many.
39 But you, when we, his people, live under such an
emperor — do you believe that comforting an exile is
dangerous ? Perhaps under the dominion of Busiris
you might rightly fear this or under him 3 who was
wont to burn men within the bronze . Cease to defame
a tender heart with idle fear. Why fear cruel reefs
in a calm sea ? Even I, for having written at first
to you without your name, think that I can scarcely
be excused. But I was so stunned that fear h,rid taken
away the use of reason, and all power of thought had
given way to the new misfortune ; fearful of my
1 The sea goddess who aided Ulysses to reach Phaeacia.
2 i.e. those whom Augustus had punished.
8 Phalaris.
413
OVID
fortunamque meam metuens, non vindicis iram,
50 terrebar titulo noininis ipse mei.
hactenus admonitus memori concede poetae l
ponat ut in chartis nomina cara suis.
turpe erit ambobus, longo mihi proximus usu
si nulla libri parte legere mei.
55 ne tamen iste metus somnos tibi rumpere possit,
non ultra, quam vis, officiosus ero,
teque tegam, qui sis, nisi cum permiseris ipse :
cogetur nemo munus habere meum.
tu modo, quern poteras vel aperte tutus amare,
60 si res est anceps ista, latenter ama.
VII.
Verba mihi desunt eadem tam saepe roganti,
iamque pudet vanas fine carere preces.
taedia consimili fieri de carmine vobis,
quidque petam cunctos edidicisse reor.
6 nostraque quid portet iam nostis epistula, quamvis
cera2 sit a vinclis non labefacta suis.3
ergo mutetur scripti sententia nostri,
ne totiens contra, quam rapit amnis, earn,
quod bene de vobis speravi, ignoscite, amici :
10 talia peccandi iam mihi finis erit.
nee gravis uxori dicar : quae scilicet in me
quam proba tam timida est experiensque parum.
hoc quoque, Naso, feres : etenim peiora tulisti.
iam tibi sentiri sarcina nulla potest.
15 ductus ab armento taurus detrectat4 aratrum,
subtrahit 5 et duro colla novella iugo :
1 sodali <J charta 3 suis] meis
4 detrectet 6 subtrahat
414
EX PONTO, III, vi. 49— vii. 16
own fate, not of the avenger's wrath, I was filled
with dread by the superscription of my own name.
51 Now that I have admonished you thus far, permit
the poet who remembers you to place in his pages
names that are dear to him. It will shame us both
if you, so close to me through long intimacy, are
mentioned nowhere in my book. Yet I would not
have your slumbers broken by that dread of yours ;
I will not display my devotion beyond your wishes,
and I will conceal who you are save when you shall
yourself grant leave ; none shall be forced to receive
my tribute. Only do you, though you might with
safety have loved me openly, if that seems danger-
ous— love me in secret.
VII. To FRIENDS
Words fail me to make the same request so many
times ; and at last it shames me that my idle prayers are
endless. You are all weary of my monotonous verses,
and rny request you have learned by heart, I think.
What message my letter bears you know already,
although the wax has not been broken from its bonds.
So let me change the purport of my writing that my
course be not so often against the hurrying stream.
9 For my good hopes of you, pardon me, my friends :
of such error now there shall be an end. Nor will I
be called a trouble to my wife who in sooth is as true
to me as she is timid and backward in her efforts.
This also, Naso, thou shalt bear, and thou hast borne
worse things ; no burden can affect thee now. The
bull when he is taken from the herd objects to the
plough and wrenches his inexperienced neck from
415
OVID
nos, quibus adsuevit fatum crudeliter uti,
ad mala iam pridem non sumus ulla rudes.
venimus in Geticos fines : moriamur l in illis,
20 Parcaque ad extremum qua mea coepit eat.
speni iuvat amplecti — quae non iuvat inrita semper-
et, fieri cupias siqua, futura putes :
proximus huic gradus est bene desperare salutem,
seque semel vera scire perisse fide.
25 curando fieri quaedam maiora videmus
vulnera, quae melius non tetigisse fuit.
mitius ille perit, subita qui mergitur unda,
quam sua qui tumidis brachia lassat2 aquis.
cur ego concepi Scythicis me posse carere
30 finibus et terra prosperiore frui ?
cur aliquid de me speravi lenius umquaru ?
an fortuna mihi sic mea nota fuit ?
torqueor en gravius, repetitaque forma locorum
exilium renovat triste recensque facit.
35 est tamen utilius, studium cessare meorum,
quam, quas admorint, non valuisse preces.
magna quidem res est, quam3 non audetis, amici :
sed si quis peteret, qui dare vellet, erat.
duminodo non nobis 4 hoc Caesaris ira negarit,
40 fortiter Euxinis inmoriemur aquis.
VIII.
Quae tibi quaerebam rnemorem testantia curam
dona Tomitanus mittere posset ager.
1 moriemur 2 iactat vd pulsat
3 quam] sed 4 vnbis
1 In bitter despair the poet resolves at least to die bravely
if Caesar does not deny him even this.
416
EX PONTO, III. vii. 17— vm. 2
the hard yoke : I, beneath the practised cruelty of
fate, have for long found no misfortune with which I
am not familiar. I have come to the Getic shores ;
let me die there and let my Fate continue to the end
the course she has begun. 'Tis good to embrace a
hope — though it bring no good and be ever vain —
and whatever you long for that you may deem will
happen. The next stage is utterly to give up hope of
salvation, to know once and for all with full assurance
that one is lost. Some wounds are made worse by
treatment, as we see : it had been better not to
touch them. More merciful is his death who is
suddenly overwhelmed by the waters than his who
wearies his arms in the heaving seas. Why did I
conceive it possible for me to leave the Scythian land
and enjoy a happier one ? Why did I ever hope any
mercy for myself ? Was it thus that I had come to
know my fate ? Lo ! my torture is all the worse,
and the repeated description of this place but renews
and freshens the harshness of my exile. Yet 'tis
better that the zeal of my friends should cease than
that the petitions they have brought should have had
no weight. Serious indeed, my friends, is the thing
you dare not : but if anybody were to ask, there is
one who would be willing to grant. If only Caesar 's
wrath does not deny me this,1 1 shall bravely die on
the shores of the Euxine sea.
VIII. To MAXIMUS
I was pondering what gift to witness my unfor-
getting love of you the land of Tomis could send you
2E 417
OVID
dignus es argento, fulvo quoque dignior auro,
sed te, cum donas, ista iuvare solent.
6 nee tamen haec loca sunt ullo pretiosa metallo :
hostis ab agricola vix sinit ilia fodi.
purpura saepe tuos fulgens praetexit amictus.
sed non Sarmatico tingitur ilia mari.
vellera dura ferunt pecudes, et Palladis uti
10 arte Tomitanae non didicere nurus.
femina pro lana Cerealia munera frangit,
suppositoque gravem vertice portat aquam.
non hie pampineis amicitur vitibus ulmus,
nulla premunt ramos ponder e poma suo.1
15 tristia deformes pariunt absinthia campi,
terraque de fructu quam sit amara docet.
nil igitur tota Ponti regione sinistri,
quod mea sedulitas mittere posset, erat.
clausa tamen misi Scythica tibi tela pharetra :
20 hoste precor fiant ilia cruenta tuo.
hos habet haec calamos, hos haec habet ora libellos,
haec viget in nostris, Maxime, Musa locis !
quae quamquam misisse pudet, quia parva videntur,
tu tamen haec, quaeso, consule missa boni.
IX.
Quod sit in his eadem sententia, Brute, libellis,
carmina nescio quern carpere nostra refers :
nil nisi me terra fruar ut propiore rogare,
et quam sim denso cinctus ab hoste loqui.
6 o, quam de multis vitium reprehenditur unum I
hoc peccat solum si mea Musa, bene est.
1 BU09
418
EX PONTO, III. vin. 3— ix. 6
Worthy are you of silver, of tawny gold still more, but
such things are wont to please you when you are the
giver. Nor are these lands enriched by any mine :
scarce does the enemy allow the farmer to dig there.
Often has* the gleam of purple bordered your robe,
but there is no such dye as that by the Sarmatian
sea. The flocks produce a coarse fleece and the
daughters of Tonris have not learned the craft of
Pallas. Instead of working the wool they grind Ceres'
gifts or carry heavy burdens of water supported on
their heads. Here no clustering vines cloak the elms,
no fruits bend the branches with their weight. Harsh
wormwood is the product of the unsightly plains, and
by this fruit the land proclaims its own bitterness.
17 Nothing there was, then, in the whole region of ill-
omened Pontus that all my pains could send. Yet I
am sending some Scythian arrows enclosed in their
quiver ; may they be stained, I pray, in the blood of
your enemies ! Such are the pens on this shore,
such the books ! Such is the Muse who flourishes,
Maximus, in this place of mine ! I am ashamed to
send them because they seem poor gifts; yet I pray
you to take them in good part.
IX. To BRUTUS
Because these compositions of mine contain the
same thought, Brutus, you report that somebody is
carping at my verse : nothing (he says) but petition-
ing that I may enjoy a land nearer home, and talk
of the throng of enemies encircling me. Ah, how
the critic seizes on but one of many shortcomings !
If this is the only blemish of my Muse, 'tis well. I
419
OVID
ipse ego librorum video delicta meorum,
cum sua plus iusto carmina quisque probet.
auctor opus laudat : sic forsitan Agrius olim
10 Thersiten facie dixerit esse bona.
iudicium tamen hie nostrum non decipit error,
nee, quicquid genui, protinus illud amo.
cur igitur, si me videam delinquere, peccem,
et patiar scripto crimen inesse, rogas ?
15 non eadem ratio est sentire et demere morbos ;
sensus inest cunctis, tollitur arte malum.
saepe aliquod verbum oupiens mutare reliqui,
iudicium vires destituuntque meum.
saepe piget (quid enim dubitem tibi vera fateri)
20 corrigere et longi ferre laboris onus.
scribentem iuvat ipse labor1 minuitque laborem,
cumque suo crescens pectore fervet opus,
corrigere ut 2 res est tanto magis ardua quanto
magnus Aristarcho maior Homerus erat,
25 sic animum lento curarum frigore laedit
et3 cupidi cursus frena retentat equi.
atque ita di mites minuant mihi Caesaris irarn,
ossaque pacata nostra tegantur humo,
ut mihi conanti nonnumquam intendere curas
30 fortunae species obstat acerba meae,
vixque mihi videor, faciam qui 4 carmina, sanus,
inque feris curem corrigere ilia Getis.
nil tamen e scriptis magis excusabile nostris,
quam sensus cunctis paene quod unus inest.
35 laeta fere laetus cecini, cano tristia tristis :
conveniens operi tempus utrumque suo est.
1 favor * et vel at : ut Burmann
8 et] ut 4 qni] quod vel cum
420
EX PONTO, III. ix. 7-36
myself perceive the defects of my own books despite
the fact that every man is all too fond of his own
verse. A creator finds praise for his own work : so
perchance of old Agrius l may have called Thersites
fair. Yet my judgment is not distorted by this
failing : whatever I beget does not forthwith please
me. Why then, you ask, if I perceive my mistakes,
should I continue to err, permitting faults to remain
in my writing ? 'Tis not the same story to feel and
to cure a disease ; all men can feel, skill must remove
the trouble. Often when I am desirous of changing
some word I leave it, and my strength forsakes my
judgment. Often — why should I hesitate to confess
to you the truth ? — it irks me to emend and endure
the burden of long toil. While writing the very toil
gives pleasure and itself is lessened, and the growing
work glows along with the writer's heart. But to
emend — even as it is a thing as much harder as
great Homer was greater than Aristarchus, so it
wears down the mind with a slow chill of worry,
curbing the steed all eager for the race. As truly as
I hope that the merciful gods may lessen Caesar's
wrath and allow my bones to rest in peaceful soil,
when I attempt to work carefully, sometimes the
bitter vision of my lot confronts me and I think
myself hardly sane in composing verses or in troubling
to emend them among the wild Getae.
33 And yet there is nothing more deserving of excuse
in what I write than that in it all there is one single
thought. Gay was oft my song when I was gay, sad it
is now that I am sad : each period has a type of work
1 Father of Thersites, r/. Ex P. iv. 13. 15 note.
421
OVID
quid nisi de vitio scribam regionis amarae,
utque loco moriar commodiore precer ?
cum totiens eadem dicam, vix audior ulli,
40 verbaque profectu dissimulata carent.
et tamen haec eadem cum sint, non scripsimus l isdem,
unaque per plures vox mea temptat opem.
an, ne bis sensum lector reperiret eundem,
unus amicorum, Brute, rogandus eras 2 ?
45 non fuit hoc tanti. confesso ignoscite, docti :
vilior est operis fama salute mea.
denique materiam, quam 3 quis sibi finxerit ipse,
arbitrio variat mult a poeta suo.
Musa mea est index nimium quoque vera malorum.
50 atque incorrupti pondera testis habet.
nee liber ut fieret, sed uti sua cuique daretur
littera, propositum curaque nostra fuit.
postmodo collectas utcumque sine ordine iunxi :
hoc opus electum ne mihi forte putes.
55 da veniam scriptis, quorum non gloria nobis
causa, sed utilitas officiumque fuit.
1 scribimus vel scribitur * erat
8 quam] cum Bentley
422
EX PONTO, III. ix. 37-56
that befits it. Of what am I to write save the evils
of a bitter country and to pray that I may die in a
pleasanter region ? I write so often of the same
things that scarce any listen, and my words, which
they feign not to understand, are without result.
And yet though the words are always the same, I
have not written to the same persons : my cry,
always the same, seeks aid through many. Should
I — that some reader might not twice find the same
sense — petition you alone, Brutus, among my friends ?
It was not worth the price ; pardon the confession,
ye men of taste ! Cheaper in my eyes is the reputa-
tion of my work than my own weal. In fine the
subject which anyone may have fashioned for him-
self, he varies in many ways to suit his own taste —
if he be a poet. My Muse is but too true an index
of my misfortunes ; she has all the weight of an
incorruptible witness. Not to produce a book, but
to send a letter to each has been the object of my
care. Later I collected them and put them together
somehow, without order — not to have you think per-
chance that for this work I have made selections.
Grant indulgence to my writings, for their purpose
has been not my renown but my advantage, and to do
homage to others.
423
LIBER QUARTUS
I.
Accipe, Pompei, deductum carmen ab illo,
debitor est vitae qui tibi, Sexte, suae.
qui seu non prohibes a me tua nomina poni,
accedet meritis haec quoque summa tuis :
6 sive trahis vultus, equidem peccasse fatebor,
delicti tamen est causa probanda mei.
non potuit mea mens, quin esset grata, teneri.
sit precor officio non gravis ira pio.
o,1 quotiens ego sum libris mini visus in 2 istis
10 impius, in nullo quod legerere loco !
o, quotiens, alii cum vellem scribere, nomen
rettulit in ceras inscia dextra tuum !
ipse mihi placuit mcndis in talibus error,
et vix invita facta litura manu est.
15 " viderit ! ad summam " dixi " licet ipse queratur !
hanc3 pudet offensam non meruisse prius."
da mihi, siquid ea est, hebetantem pectora Lethen.
oblitus potero non tamen esse tui.
idque sinas oro, nee fasti dita repellas
20 verba, nee officio crimen inesse putes,
et levis haec meritis referatur gratia tantis :
si minus, invito te quoque gratus ero.
1 o] di • in] ab f hanc] a, t.«. a !
424.
BOOK IV
I. To SEXTUS POMPEY
Deign to receive a poem, Sextus Pompey, com-
posed by him who is indebted to you for his life.
If you do not prevent me from uttering your name
this also will be added to the sum of your deserts :
or if you frown, I shall indeed confess my mistake, but
its cause must nevertheless win approval. My heart
could not be restrained from gratitude ; let not your
anger be heavy, I beseech you, upon my loyal
service. Ah, how often have I thought myself un-
grateful in these books because nowhere was your
name read ! Ah, how often, when I wished to write to
another, has my hand all unconsciously placed your
name upon the wax ! The very mistake I made in
such slips gave me pleasure and my hand was scarce
willing to make the erasure. " Let him see it ! " I
said, " though he may indeed complain ! Ashamed
am I not to have earned this blame earlier ! "
Give me, if such thing there be, the waters of Lethe
that benumb the heart, yet I shall not be able to
forget you. I beg you will permit this nor reject
in contempt my words, nor think that in my tribute
there is a sin. Let this slight gratitude be rendered
to all your services ; if you do not, I shall be grateful
even against your will.
425
OVID
numquam pigra fuit nostris tua gratia rebus,
nee mihi munificas area negavit opes.
25 nunc quoque nil subitis dementia territa fatis
auxilium vitae fertque1 feretque meae.
unde rogas forsan fiducia tanta futuri
sit mihi ? quod fecit, quisque tuetur opus,
ut Venus artificis labor est et gloria Coi,
30 aequoreo madidas quae premit imbre comas :
arcis ut Actaeae vel eburna vel aerea 2 custos
bellica Phidiaca stat dea facta manu :
vindicat ut Calamis laudem, quos fecit, equorum :
ut similis verae vacca Myronis opus :
35 sic ego pars rerum non ultima, Sexte, tuarum
tutelaeque feror munus opusque tuae.
II.
Quod legis, o vates magnorum maxime regum,
venit ab intonsis usque, Severe, Getis :
cuius adhuc nomen nostros tacuisse libellos,
si modo permittis dicere vera, pudet.
5 orba tamen numeris cessavit epistula numquam
ire per alternas officiosa vices,
carmina sola tibi memorem testantia curam
non data sunt. quid enim, quae facis ipse, darem ?
quis mel Aristaeo, quis Baccho vina Falerna,
10 Triptolemo fruges, poma det Alcinoo ?
fertile pectus habes, interque Helicona colentes
uberius nulli provenit ista seges.
1 feretque vel refertque vel referta * aenea : aerea r
1 Ovid plays on gratia (thanks), gratvs (grateful), and
gratia (favour, kindness).
426
EX PONTO, IV. i. 23—11. 12
23 Never has your grace 1 been slow to meet my
need nor has your coffer ever denied me generous
aid. Even now your clemency, not at all deterred
by my sudden misfortune, offers and will continue
to offer succour to my life. Whence, perchance you
ask, have I so much confidence in the future ? Every
man watches over the work he has wrought. Just
as Venus is at once the work and glory of the Coan
artist,2 as she presses her locks damp with the spray
of the sea ; as the war goddess 3 who guards the
Actaean citadel stands in ivory or bronze wrought
by the hand of Phidias, as Calamis claims renown
for the steeds he has made, as the lifelike cow is
Myron's work, so I am not the last of your posses-
sions, Sextus ; I am known as the gift, the work of
your guardianship.
II. To SEVERUS
That which you are reading, Severus, mightiest
bard of mighty kings, comes all the way from the
land of the unshorn Getae, and that as yet my books
have made no mention of your name — if you will
permit me to speak the truth — brings me shame.
Yet letters not in metre have never ceased to go
on their mission of friendship between us. Verse
alone, bearing witness to your thoughtful care, I
have not given you : why should I give what you
yourself compose ? Who would give honey to
Aristaeus, Falernian wine to Bacchus, grain to Tripto-
lemus, fruit to Alcinous ? You have a productive
heart ; of those who cultivate Helicon, none displays
* Apelles. * Athena.
427
OVID
mittere ad hunc carmen, frondes erat addere silvis
haec mihi cunctandi causa, Severe, fuit.
15 nee tamen ingenium nobis respondet, ut ante,
sed siccum sterili vomere litus aro.
scilicet ut limus venas excaecat 1 in undis,
laesaque suppresso fonte resistit aqua,
pectora sic mea sunt limo vitiata malorum,
20 et carmen vena pauperiore fluit.
si quis in hac ipsum terra posuisset Homerum,
esset, crede mihi, factus et ille Getes.
da veniam fasso, studiis quoque frena remisi,
ducitur et digitis littera rara meis.
25 impetus ille sacer, qui vatum pectora nutrit,
qui prius in nobis esse solebat, abest.
vix venit ad partes, vix sumptae Musa tabellae
inponit pigras paene coacta manus.
parvaque, ne dicam scribendi nulla voluptas
30 est mihi, nee numeris nectere verba iuvat.
sive quod hinc fructus adeo non cepimus ullos,
prinoipium nostri res sit ut ista mali :
sive quod in tenebris numerosos ponere gestus,2
quodque legas nulli scribere carmen, idem est.
35 excitat auditor studium, laudataque virtus
crescit, et inmensum gloria calcar habet.
hie mea cui recitem nisi flavis scripta Corallis,
quasque alias gentes barbarus Hister habet ?
sed quid solus agam, quaque infelicia perdam
40 otia materia surripiamque diem ?
nam quia nee vinum, nee me tenet alea fallax,
per quae clam taciturn tempus abire solet,
nee me, quod cuperem, si per fera bella liceret,
oblectat cultu terra novata suo,
1 venas excaecat] cum venas cecat
* gressus £"
428
EX PONTO, IV. ii. 13-44
a richer crop. To send verse to such a one were to
add leaves to the forest : this has caused my delay,
Severus. Yet my talent does not answer the call as
of old, for I am furrowing a barren shore with an
ineffective plough. Surely just as silt clogs the veins
in springs and the outraged water halts in the choked
fountain, so my mind has been injured by the silt of
misfortune, and my verse flows with a scantier vein.
If anyone had set in this land Homer himself, let me
assure you, even he would have become a Getan.
Pardon one who confesses, but in my pursuit I have
relaxed the rein, my fingers rarely trace a letter.
That inspired impulse, the nurse of poets' thoughts,
which once was mine, is gone. My Muse scarce
takes her part, and when I have taken up my tablets
scarce does she lay upon them an inert hand, almost
under coercion. I have little pleasure, or none at all,
in writing, no zest in joining words to metre, whether
it is that I have so reaped from it no profit that this
very thing is the source of my misfortune, or that
making rhythmic gestures in the dark and composing
a poem which you may read to nobody are one and
the same thing. A hearer rouses zeal, excellence
increases with praise, and renown possesses a mighty
spur. In this place who is there to whom I can read
my compositions except the yellow-haired Coralli, or
the other tribes of the wild Hister ? But what shall
I do in my loneliness, with what occupation shall I
pass my ill-starred leisure and beguile the day ?
For since neither wine nor treacherous dice attract
me, which oft cause time to steal quietly away, nor
— although I should like it if fierce war permitted —
can I take pleasure in renewing the earth by cultiva-
429
OVID
46 quid, nisi Pierides, solacia frigida, restant,
non bene de nobis quae meruere deae ?
at tu, cui bibitur felicius Aouius fons,
utiliter studium quod tibi cedit ama,
sacraque Musarum merito cole, quodque legamus,
CO hue aliquod curae mittc recentis opus.
III.
Conquerar, an taceam ? ponam sine nomine crimen,
an notum qui sis omnibus esse velim ?
nomine non utar, ne commendere querella,
quaeraturque tibi carmine fama meo.
5 dum mea puppis erat valida fundata carina,
qui mccum velles currere, primus eras,
nunc, quia contraxit vultum Fortuna, recedis,
auxilio postquam scis opus esse tuo.
dissimulas etiam, nee me vis nosse videri,
10 quisque sit, audito nomine, Naso, rogas.
ille ego sum, quamquam non vis audire, vetusta
paene puer puero iunctus amicitia :
ille ego, qui primus tua seria nosse solebam
et tibi iucundis primus ad esse iocis :
15 ille ego convictor densoque domesticus usu,
ille ego iudiciis unica Musa tuis.
ille ego sum, qui nunc an vivam, perfide, nescis,
cura tibi de quo quaerere nulla fuit.
sive fui numquam carus, simulasse fateris :
20 seu non fingebas, inveniere levis.
aut age, die aliquam, quae te mutaverit, iram :
nam nisi iusta tua est, iusta querella mea est.
1 Since Severus wrote epics on contemporary themes (se<
Index), it is not improbable that he had received somi
concrete reward.
430
EX PONTO, IV. IT. 45— in. 22
tion, what remains except the Pierians, a cold solace,
— the goddesses who have not deserved well of me ?
But you, who quaff more happily the Aonian spring,
continue your love for the pursuit which yields you
profit ; x worship as is right the cult of the Muses
and for my reading send hither some work over which
you have recently toiled.
III. To A FAITHLESS FRIEND
Complaint or silence ? Shall I make a nameless
charge, o^ should I wish all to know who you are ?
I will not employ your name lest my complaint bring
you favour and through my verse you win renown.
5 As long as my bark rested firmly upon its keel
among all who wished to sail with me you were first.
Now that Fortune has frowned you withdraw upon
discovering that your assistance is needed. You
play the dissembler, too, and wish not to be thought
to know me ; when you hear the name you ask who
Naso is ! 'Tis I, although you will not hear it, who
have been united to you in friendship almost boy
with boy ; 'tis I who used first to hear your serious
thoughts, first to listen to your pleasant jests ; 'tis
I who lived in close union with you in the same
household ; 'tis I who in your judgment was the one
and only Muse ; 'tis I of whom you know not,
traitor, whether I am now alive, about whom you
have been at no pains to inquire. If I was never
dear to you, you confess pretence ; if you were not
feigning, you will be proved faithless. Or else come
now, tell me of some reason for anger that has altered
you ; for if your complaint is not just, then mine is
431
OVID
quod te nunc crimen similem l vetat esse priori ?
an crimen, coepi quod miser esse, vocas ?
25 si mihi rebus opem nullam factisque ferebas,
venisset verbis charta notata tribus.
vix equidem credo, sed et 2 insultare iacenti
te mihi nee verbis parcere fama refert.
quid facis, a ! demens ? cur, si Fortuna recedat,8
30 naufragio lacrimas eripis ipse tuo ?
haec dea non stabili, quam sit levis, orbe fatetur,
quae summum dubio sub pede semper habet.
quolibet est folio, quavis incertior aura :
par illi levitas, improbe, sola tua est.
35 omnia sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo, 4
et subito casu quae valuere, ruunt.
divitis audita est cui non opulentia Croesi ?
nempe tamen vitam captus ab hoste tulit.
ille Syracosia modo formidatus in urbe
40 vix humili duram reppulit arte famem.
quid fuerat Magno maius ? tamen ille rogavit
summissa fugiens voce clientis opem.
cuique viro totus terrarum paruit orbis,
45 ille lugurthino clarus Cimbroque triumpho,
quo victrix totiens consule Roma fuit,
in caeno Marius iacuit cannaque palustri,
pertulit et tanto multa pudenda viro.
1 quae te consimilem res nunc (non)
2 sed et] subito 8 recedit : recedat r
4 om. optimi codd.
1 Fortuna was often depicted standing on a wheel.
1 Dionysius, the tyrant, who was expelled and kept school
at Corinth.
432
EX PONTO, IV. in. 23-48
just. What crime of mine prevents you from being
what you once were ? Or do you term it a crime that
I have become unfortunate ? If you brought me no
aid in fact, in deeds, you might have sent me three
words on a sheet of paper. I can scarce believe it —
but rumour says that you are even insulting me in
my fall, that you do not spare words. Ah, why do
you do this, madman ? Why, in case Fortune should
leave you, do you thus rob your own shipwreck of
tears ? She is a goddess who admits by her un-
steady wheel her own fickleness ; she always has its
crest beneath her swaying foot.1 She is less stable
than any leaf, than any breeze ; to match her fickle-
ness, base man, there is only yours !
35 All human affairs hang by a slender thread ;
chance on a sudden brings to ruin what once was
strong. Who has not heard of Croesus's wealth ?
Yet of a truth he was captured and received his life
from an enemy. He 2 who but now was dreaded in
the city of Syracuse, scarce kept hunger at bay by a
lowly calling. What was mightier than Magnus 3 ?
Yet in his flight he asked with humble voice a client's
aid. The man whom the whole world obeyed . .
4 he who was famed for
his triumphs over Jugurtha and the Cimbri, under
whom as consul Rome was so often victorious, lay,
Marius though he was, in the slime and marsh
grass, enduring many things shameful for so great
a man.
8 Pompey. After the battle of Pharsalus he fled to
Egypt where he was treacherously slain.
4 V. 44 is omitted by the best manuscripts. In the later
ones appears the spurious line : indigus effectus omnibus ipse
mag Is (" himself came to feel need more than any ").
2F 433
OVID
ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus,
50 et certam praesens vix habet x hora fidem.
" litus ad Euxinum " si quis mihi diceret " ibis,
et metues, arcu ne feriare Getae,"
" i, bibe " dixissem " purgantes pectora sucos,
quidquid et in tota nascitur Anticyra."
55 sum tamen haec passus : nee, si mortalia possem,
et summi poteram tela cavere dei.
tu quoque fac timeas, et quae tibi laeta videntur
dum loqueris, fieri tristia posse puta.
IV.
Nulla dies adeo est australibus umida nimbis,
non intermissis ut fluat imber aquis.
nee sterilis locus ullus ita est, ut non sit in illo
mixta fere duris utilis herba rubis.
5 nil adeo fortuna gravis miserabile fecit,
ut minuant nulla gaudia parte malum.
ecce domo patriaque carens oculisque meorura,
naufragus in Getici litoris actus aquas,
qua tamen inveni vultuin diflfundere causa
10 possim,2 fortunae nee meminisse meae.
nam mihi, cum fulva solus 3 spatiarer harena,
visa est a tergo pinna dedisse sonum.
respicio, nee erat corpus, quod cernere possem,
verba tamen sunt haec aure recepta mea :
15 u en ego laetarum venio tibi nuntia rerum
Fama, per inmensas aere lapsa vias.
consule Pompeio, quo non tibi carior alter,
candidus et felix proximus annus erit."
1 habet] feret * possem * solus] tristls
434
EX PONTO, IV. in. 49— iv. 18
49 Divine power plays with human affairs, and sure
trust can scarce be placed in the present hour. If
anybody had said to me, " You shall go to the
Euxine shore and you shall fear wounds from a Getic
bow," I would have said, " Go, drink a potion that
clears the brain — everything that Anticyra x pro-
duces." Yet have I suffered this. Though I might
have guarded against the weapons of mortals, yet I
could not protect myself against those of a supreme
god. See that you too feel afraid and remember
that what seems happiness to you has power, while
you speak, to change into sorrow.
IV. To SEXTUS POMPEIUS
No day is so drenching wet from the southern
clouds that the rain pours in uninterrupted flood.
No place is so barren that it has no useful plant, oft-
times intermixed with the tough brambles. Heavy
fortune has rendered nothing so wretched that no
joys lessen in some part its sorrow. Behold how I,
reft from home and country and the sight of my own,
driven like a wreck to the waters of the Getic land,
have yet found means to brighten my face and to
forget my fate. For as I strolled alone upon the
yellow sand, behind me, it seemed, wings rustled.
I looked back ; there was no form that I could see,
but my ear caught these words, " Lo, I come to bear
thee a message of gladness ; I am Report, and I have
flown through measureless distances of air. Through
the consulship of Pompey, who is dearer to you than
any other, the coming year will be bright and blessed."
1 Anticyra produced an abundance of hellebore which
was much used as a cure for insanity.
435
OVID
dixit, et ut laeto Pontum rumore replevit,
20 ad gentes alias hinc dea vertit iter.
at mihi dilapsis inter nova gaudia curis
excidit asperitas huius iniqua loci,
ergo ubi, lane biceps, longum reseraveris annum,
pulsus et a sacro mense December erit,
25 purpura Pompeium summi velabit honoris,
ne titulis quicquam debeat ille suis.
cernere iam videor rumpi paene atria turba,
et populum laedi deficiente loco,
templaque Tarpeiae primum tibi sedis adiri,
30 et fieri faciles in tua vota deos ;
colla boves niveos certae praebere securi,
quos aluit campis herba Falisca suis :
cumque deos omnes, tune hos1 inpensius, aequos
esse tibi cupias, cum love Caesar erunt.
35 curia te excipiet, patresque e more vocati
intendent aures ad tua verba suas.
hos ubi facundo tua vox hilaraverit ore,
utque solet, tulerit prospera verba dies,
egeris et meritas superis cum Caesare grates
40 (qui causam, facias cur ita saepe, dabit),
inde domum repetes to to comitante senatu,
officium populi vix capiente domo.
me miserum, turba quod non ego cernar in ilia,
nee poterunt istis lumina nostra frui !
45 quod licet,2 absentem qua possum mente videbo :
aspiciet vultus consulis ilia sui.
1 quos : hos £~
2 qualibet unde quamlibet Heinsius
1 January, in which the magistrates entered on their
terms.
436
EX PONTO, IV. iv. 19-46
She spoke, and having filled the Pontus with the glad
tidings the goddess turned her course to other
peoples. But for me care fell away amidst my new
joys, the cruel harshness of this land vanished. And
so, two-faced Janus, when thou hast unsealed the
long year, when December is driven out by the holy
month,1 Pompey will assume the purple of highest
office — that to his titles of honour he may leave no
debt undischarged.2 Already I seem to behold your
halls almost bursting with the crowd, the people
bruised for lack of space, the temples of Tarpeia's
abode 3 visited by you as your first act, the gods
becoming propitious to your prayers, the snowy oxen
which Falerii has nourished in her own meadows
offering their throats to the unerring axe ; and while
from all the gods you will earnestly seek favour,
those of your more eager desire shall be Jupiter and
Caesar. The senate-house will receive you and the
fathers summoned in the wonted fashion will lend
attentive ear to your words. When they have been
delighted by the words that will fall from your
eloquent lips, when according to custom the day
shall offer words of good omen, and you have rendered
due thanks to the gods above and to Caesar, who will
give you cause to repeat them often, you will return
home escorted by the whole senate, the house scarce
finding room for the people's homage. Wretched
am I that I shall not be seen in that throng, that my
eyes will not be able to enjoy that sight ! But this
I may do : in your absence I can see you in my
mind ; that will behold the features of its loved
a As if the series of offices were a score which Pompey
would pay in full when he became consul.
8 The Capitoline Hill.
437
OVID
di faciant aliquo subeat tibi tempore nostrum
nomen, et " heu " dicas " quid miser ille facit ? "
haec tua pertulerit si quis mini verba, fatebor
50 protinus exilium mollius esse meum.
V.
Ite, leves elegi, doctas ad consulis aures,
verbaque honorato ferte legenda viro.
longa via est, nee vos pedibus proceditis aequis,
tectaque brumali sub nive terra latet.
5 cum gelidam Thracen et opertum nubibus Haemum
et maris lonii transieritis aquas,
luce minus decima dominam venietis in urbem,
ut festinatum non faciatis iter.
protinus inde domus vobis Pompeia petatur :
10 non est Augusto iunctior ulla foro.
siquis, ut in populo, qui sitis et unde requiret,
nomina decepta quaelibet aure ferat.
ut sit enim tutum, sicut reor esse, fateri,
verba minus certe ficta timoris habent.
15 copia nee vobis nullo prohibente videndi
consulis, ut limen contigeritis, erit.
aut reget ille suos dicendo iura Quirites,
conspicuum signis cum premet altus ebur :
aut populi reditus positam componet ad has tarn,
20 et minui magnae non sinet urbis opes :
aut, ubi erunt patres in lulia templa vocati,
de tanto dignis consule rebus aget :
aut feret Augusto solitam natoque salutem,
deque parum noto consulet officio.
1 A spear was set up where the consul was letting con-
tracts, etc.
438
EX PONTO, IV. iv. 47— v. 24
consul. May the gods grant that at some moment
my name may come into your mind, that you may
say," Alas ! what is that miserable man doing now ? "
If such words of yours be reported to me by any, I
shall at once confess that my exile is easier to bear.
V. To SEXTUS POMPEIUS
On ! light couplets, to the consul's learned ears,
and bear a message for the honoured man to read.
Long is the way, nor do you advance with even steps,
and a mantle of winter snow conceals the land.
Crossing frozen Thrace with Haemus hidden in
clouds and the waters of the Ionian sea, on the tenth
day or before you will reach the imperial city though
you make no hurried journey. Forthwith then seek
the house of Pompeius ; none is closer to the forum
of Augustus. If any, as may happen in the crowd,
asks who you are and whence you come, beguile his
ear with any name you will. For even though it
should be safe, as I think it is, to make confession,
surely fictitious words involve less danger. Nor will
you have the power unhindered to see the consul,
even though you reach the threshold : either he will be
ruling his citizens by the law's word while he sits high
upon an ivory chair splendid with carving, or beside
the implanted spear l he will be ordering the people's
revenues, not allowing the wealth of the mighty
city to suffer loss ; or when the fathers have been
summoned to Julius's temple, he will be debating
matters worthy of a great consul ; or he will be
bringing to Augustus and his son the accustomed
greeting, seeking advice about an unfamiliar duty.
439
OVID
25 tempus ab his vacuum Caesar Germanicus omne
auferet : a magnis hunc colit ille dels,
cum tamen a turba rerum requieverit harum,
ad vos mansuetas porriget ille manus,
quidque parens ego vester agam fortasse requiret.
30 talia vos illi reddere verba volo :
" vivit adhuc vitamque tibi debere fatetur,
quani prius a miti Caesare munus habet.
te sibi, cum fugeret, memori solet ore referre
barbariae tutas exhibuisse vias :
35 sanguine Bistonium quod non tepefecerit ensem,
effectum cura pectoris esse tui :
addita praeterea vitae quoque multa tuendae
munera, ne proprias attenuaret opes,
pro quibus ut meritis referatur gratia, iurat
40 se fore mancipii1 tempus in omne tui.
nam prius umbrosa carituros arbore montes,
et freta velivolas non habitura rates,
fluminaque in fontes cursu reditura supino,
gratia quam meriti possit abire tui."
45 haec ubi dixeritis, servet sua dona rogate.
sic fuerit vestrae causa peracta viae.
VI.
Quam legis, ex illis tibi venit epistula, Brute,
Nasonem nolles in quibus esse locis.
sed tu quod nolles, voluit miserabile fatum.
ei mini ! plus illud quam tua vota valet.
5 in Scythia nobis quinquennis Olympias acta est :
iam tempus lustri transit in alterius.
perstat enim fortuna tenax, votisque malignum
opponit nostris insidiosa2 pedem.
1 mancipium . . . tuum f invidiosa
440
EX PONTO, IV. v. 25— vi. 8
All the time left from these offices Germanicus
Caesar will claim : him he reverences next after the
great gods.
27 Yet when he finds rest from this crowd of affairs,
he will extend to you his kindly hands, and he will
ask perhaps how I, your parent, am faring. In such
words as these I wish you to reply : " He still lives,
confessing that he owes the life to you which first
he holds as the gift of Caesar's mercy. He is wont
to say with grateful lips that upon his journey to
exile you made the ways of the barbarian world safe
for him : that his blood stained no Bistonian sword
was owing to your heartfelt care ; that you gave him
besides many gifts to preserve his life that his own
resources might not be impaired. To thank you for
these services he swears to be your slave for all time.
For the mountains will sooner be stripped of their
shady trees and the seas of their sailing ships, the
rivers will turn and flow backward to their sources
before he can cease to be grateful for your service."
46 When you have spoken thus, ask him to preserve
his own gift ; so will the purpose of your journey be
accomplished.
VI. To BRUTUS
The letter that you are reading, Brutus,1 has come
from that land in which you would not wish Naso to
be. Yet what you would not wish, wretched fate
has willed for me. Alas ! fate is stronger than your
prayers. In Scythia I have passed the five years of
an Olympiad ; the time is now passing to a second
lustrum. For obstinate fortune persists and craftily
opposes a malicious foot to my desires. Thou,
1 A close friend of Ovid's otherwise unknown, c/. i. 1.
441
OVID
certus eras pro me, Fabiae laus, Maxime, gentis,
10 numen ad Augustum supplice voce loqui.
occidis ante preces, causamque ego, Maxime, mortis
(nee fuero tanti) me reor esse tuae.
iam timeo nostram cuiquam mandare salutem :
ipsum morte tua concidit auxilium.
15 coeperat Augustus deceptae ignoscere culpae :
spem nostram terras deseruitque simul.
quale tamen potui, de caelite, Brute, recenti
vestra procul positus carmen in ora dedi.
quae prosit pietas utmam mihi, sitque malorum
20 iam modus et sacrae mitior ira domus.
te quoque idem liquido possum iurare precari,
o mini non dubia cognite Brute nota.
nam cum praestiteris verum mihi semper amorem,
hie tamen adverse tempore crevit amor,
25 quique tuas pariter lacrimas nostrasque videret,
passuros poenam crederet esse duos,
lenem te miscris genuit natura, nee ulli
mitius ingenium, quam tibi, Brute, dedit :
ut qui quid valeas ignoret Marte forensi,
30 posse tuo peragi vix putet ore reos.
scilicet eiusdem est, quamvis pugnare videntur,
supplicibus facilem, sontibus esse truccm.
cum tibi suscepta est legis vindicta severae,
verba velut tinctu l singula virus habent.
35 hostibus eveniat quam sis violentus in armis
sentire et linguae tela subire tuae.
1 tinctum corr. Ehwald
1 Paullus Fabius Maximus (Introd. p. xii).
2 This poem on the apotheosis of Augustus (cf. also
iv. 9. 131) is not extant. Augustus died A.D. 14, a few
442
EX PONTO, IV. vi. 9-36
Maximus,1 glory of the Fabian race, hadst resolved to
appeal for me to the deity of Augustus with the voice
of a suppliant. Thou didst die before the prayer was
uttered, and I count myself, Maximus — though I am
not worth so much — the cause of thy death. Now I
fear to entrust my salvation to any ; help itself has
perished with thy death.
15 Augustus had begun to pardon the fault I com-
mitted in error ; my hopes at once and the world he
left desolate. Yet from my distant abode I sent for
your reading a poem — such poem as I could, Brutus,
about the new god.2 May this act of reverence aid
me, let there now be an end to my sorrows, a gentler
wrath on the part of the sacred household. 1 can
swear with a clear conscience that you too utter the
same prayer, Brutus — you whom I know from
indubitable proof. For although you have ever
granted me sincere love, yet this love has increased
in my time of adversity. One who saw your tears
that matched with mine would have believed that
both were about to suffer punishment. Nature bore
you kind to the wretched ; to none, Brutus, has she
given a kinder heart, so that he who knows not your
power in the wars of the forum would scarce suppose
that your lips can prosecute defendants. In truth
the same man, although such qualities seem to battle
with each other, is able to be gentle with suppliants,
but harsh to the guilty. When you have taken it
upon yourself to champion the strict law, every word
is as though it were steeped in poison. May it
befall enemies to feel how impetuous you are in arms,
to suffer the missiles of your tongue ! On these you
months after Paulus Fabius Maximus. The present letter,
therefore, may be dated in the autumn or winter, A.D. 14-15.
443
OVID
quae tibi tarn tenui cura limantur, ut omnes
istius ingenium corporis esse negent.
at si quern laedi Fortuna cernis iniqua,
40 mollior est animo femina nulla tuo.
hoc ego praecipue sensi, cum magna meorum
notiticim pars est infitiata rnei.
inmemor illorum, vestri non inmemor umquam,
qui mala solliciti nostra levatis, cro.
45 et prius hie nimium nobis conterminus Hister
in caput Euxino de mare vertet iter,
utque Thyesteae redeant si tempora mensae,
Solis ad Eoas currus agetur aquas,
quam quisquam vcstrum, qui me doluistis ademptum,
60 arguat ingratum non meminisse sui.
VII.
Missus es Euxinas quoniam, Vestalis, ad undas,
ut positis reddas iura sub axe locis,
aspicis en praesens, quali iaccamus in arvo,
nee me testis eris falsa solere queri.
5 accedet voci per te non irrita nostrae,
Alpinis iuvenis regibus orte, fides,
ipse vides certe glacie concrescere Pontum,
ipse vides rigido stantia vina gelu ;
ipse vides, onerata fcrox ut ducat lazyx
10 per medias Histri plaustra bubulcus aquas,
aspicis et mitti sub adunco toxica ferro,
et telum causas mortis habere duas.
atque utinam pars haec tantum spectata fuisset,
non etiam proprio cognita Marte tibi !
1 The feast at which the flesh of Thyestes1 sons was served
to him by Atreus.
444
EX PONTO, IV. vi. 37— vn. 14
use the file with such extreme care that none would
recognize in them your real nature. But if you see
any injured by unjust Fortune, no woman is more
tender than your heart. This I felt above all when
the most of my friends denied knowledge of me. I
shall forget them, but you I shall never forget, who
lighten the woes of my trouble. Sooner shall the
Hister, all too near me, turn his march back from
the Euxine sea towards its source and, as if the age
of Thyestean banquets 1 should return, the chariot of
the sun shall sooner be driven towards the eastern
waters than that any one of you who have mourned
my exile shall call me a forgetful ingrate.
VII. To VESTALIS
Seeing that you have been sent to the Euxine
waters, Vestalis, to dispense justice to those lands
which lie beneath the pole, you .behold face to face in
what manner of country I am cast and you will bear
witness that I am not wont to utter false complaints.
My words will receive through you, young scion of
Alpine kings, no idle support. You yourself see the
Pontus stiffen with ice, you yourself see the wine
standing rigid with the frost ; you yourself see how
the fierce lazygian herdsman guides his loaded wagon
over the middle of Hister 's waters. You behold how
poison is hurled on the barbed steel and the missile
possesses two causes of death. And would that this
region had merely met your sight, that you had
not also experienced it, in a battle of your own !
445
OVID
16 tenditur l ad primum per densa pericula pilum,
contigit ex merito qui tibi nuper honor,
sit licet hie titulus plenus 2 tibi fructibus, ingens
ipsa tamen virtus ordine maior erit.
non negat hoc Hister, cuius tua dextera quondam
20 purdceam Getico sanguine fecit aquam.
non negat Aegisos, quae te subeunte recepta
sensit in ingenio nil opis esse loci,
nam, dubium positu melius defensa manune,
urbs erat in summo nubibus aequa iugo.
25 Sithonio regi ferus interceperat illam
hostis et ereptas victor habebat opes,
donee fluminea devecta Vitellius unda
intulit exposito milite signa Getis.
at tibi, progenies alti fortissima Donni,
30 venit in adversos impetus ire viros.
nee mora, conspicuus longe fulgentibus armis,
fortia ne possint facta latere caves,
ingentique .gradu contra ferrumque locumque
saxaque brumali grandine plura subis.
35 nee te missa super iaculorum turba moratur,
nee quae vipereo tela cruore madent.
spicula cum pictis haerent in casside pinnis,
parsque fere scuti vulnere nulla vacat.
nee corpus cunctos feliciter effugit ictus :
40 sed minor est acri laudis amore dolor,
talis apud Troiam Danais pro navibus Aiax
dicitur Hectoreas sustinuisse faces,
ut propius ventum est admotaque dextera dextrae,
resque fero potuit comminus ense geri,
1 tenditis corr. Owen • plenis
446
EX PONTO, IV. vii.
Through crowding perils is a way won to the first
rank,1 a deserved honour which has recently fallen
to your lot. Even though this honour be filled with
rewards for you, yet your great worth will be greater
than your rank. This the Hister acknowledges,
whose water your hand once empurpled with Getic
blood. Aegisos acknowledges it, which retaken at
your approach, came to know that the nature of its
site availed nothing. For 'tis uncertain whether it
was better defended by its situation or by force —
the city that towered to the clouds upon a lofty ridge.
A fierce foe had cut it off from the Sithonian king,
and in victory held its captured treasure, until
Vitellius, borne adown the stream, disembarked his
soldiers and advanced his standards against the
Getae. But you, bravest descendant of lofty
Donnus, were impelled to rush upon the confronting
foe. At once far seen in glittering arms, you take
heed that brave acts may not be hidden ; with mighty
stride you charge the steel, the hill, and stones
greater in number than winter's hail. Neither the
crowding missiles hurled from above halt you nor
those steeped in viper's blood. Arrows with painted
feathers cling to your helmet, scarce any part of your
shield lacks a wound. Your body has not the luck
to escape every stroke, but your pain is less than your
keen love of glory. Such at Troy was Danaan Ajax
when, they say, in defence of the Grecian ships he
bore the brunt of Hector's firebrands. When you
came nearer, hand meeting hand, and the battle
could be fought at close quarters with the fierce
1 The primus p'dus was the centurion of highest rank in
each legion.
447
OVID
45 dicere difficile est quid Mars tuus egerit illic,
quotque neci dederis quosque quibusque modis.
ense tuo factos calcabas victor acervos,
inposi toque Getes sub pede multus erat.
pugnat ad exemplum primi minor ordine pili,
60 multaque fert miles vulnera, multa facit.
sed tantum virtus alios tua praeterit omnes,
ante citos quantum Pegasus ibit l equos.
vincitur Aegisos, testataque tempus in omne
sunt tua, Vestalis, carmine facta meo.
VIII.
Littera sera quidem, studiis exculte Suilli,
hue tua pervenit, sed mihi grata tamen,
qua, pia si possit superos lenire rogando
gratia, laturum te mihi dicis opem.
6 ut iam nil praestes, animi sum factus amici
debitor, et meritum velle iuvare voco.
impetus iste tuus longum modo duret in aevum,
neve malis pietas sit tua lassa meis.
ius aliquod faciunt adfinia vincula nobis,
10 quae semper maneant inlabefacta precor.
nam tibi quae coniunx, eadem mihi filia paene est,
et quae te generurn, me vocat ilia virum.
ei mihi, si lectis vultum tu versibus istis
ducis et adfinem te pudet esse meum !
15 at nihil hie dignum poteris reperire pudore
praeter Fortunam, quae mihi caeca fuit.
seu genus excutias, equites ab origine prima
usque per innumeros inveniemur avos :
1 ibat
443
EX PONTO, IV. vn. 45— vni. 18
sword, 'tis hard to tell of your martial deeds there,
how many you gave to death, who they were and
how they fell. Upon heaps of dead, the work of
your sword, you trod in victory ; many a Getan lay
beneath your planted foot. The soldiers of lesser
rank fought after the model of their centurion,
enduring many wounds, giving many. But your
valour as far surpassed all others as Pegasus distances
a swift steed. Aegisos is conquered, arid for all time,
Vestalis, my song bears witness to your deeds.
VIII. To SUILLIUS
Your letter, accomplished Suillius, has been late in
reaching me, yet has it brought me pleasure. There-
in you say that so far as friendly loyalty can soften
the gods by petition you will bring me aid. Though
you should give me nothing more, your friendly pur-
pose has placed rne in your debt, for I term the will
to aid a service. Let only that impulse of yours
endure for long ages and let not your loyalty be worn
out by my misfortunes. Some claim our bonds of
kinship make and 1 pray that these may ever last
un weakened. For she who is your wife is almost my
daughter ; l she who calls you son-in-law, calls me
husband. Woe is me if when you read these verses
you frown and feel shame that you are my kinsman !
Yet you will be able to discover in me nothing to
shame you save only Fortune, who to me has proved
blind. If you examine our lineage, we shall be found
knights from our earliest origins all through a line
1 Ovid's step-daughter Perilla, cf. T. iii. 7.
2 Q 4 49
OVID
sive veils qui sint mores inquirere nostri,
20 errorem misero detrahe, labe carent.
tu modo si quid agi sperabis posse precando,
quos colis, exora supplice voce deos.
di tibi sunt1 Caesar iuvenis. tua numina placa.
hac certe nulla est notior ara tibi.
25 non sinit ilia sui vanas antistitis umquam
esse preces : nostris hinc pete rebus opem.
quamlibet exigua si nos ea iuverit aura,
obruta de mediis cumba resurget aquis.
tune ego tura feram rapidis sollemnia flammis,
30 et valeant quantum numina testis ero.
nee tibi de Pario statuam, Germanice, templum
marmore : carpsit opes ilia ruina meas.
templa domus facient vobis urbesque beatae ;
Naso suis opibus, carmine gratus erit.
35 parva quidem fateor pro magnis munera reddi,
cum pro concessa verba salute damus.
sed qui, quam potuit, dat maxima, gratus abunde est,
et finem pietas contigit ilia suum.
nee quae de parva pauper dis libat acerra
40 tura minus grandi quam data lance valent.
agnaque tarn lactens quam gramine pasta Falisco
victima Tarpeios inficit icta focos.
nee tamen officio vatum per carmina facto
principibus res est aptior ulla viris.
45 carmina vestrarum peragunt praeconia laudum,
neve sit actorum fama caduca cavent.
carmine fit vivax virtus, expersque sepulchri
notitiam serae posteritatis habet.
tabida consumit ferrum lapidemque vetustas,
50 nullaque res maius tempore robur habet.
\ sint
1 Germanicus.
450
EX PONTO, IV. vin. 19-50
of countless ancestors, or if you wish to ask what is
my character, remove my blunder and my character
is spotless.
21 Do you, if you hope that anything can be accom-
plished by petition, beseech with a suppliant's prayer
the gods you worship. Your gods are — the young
Caesar.1 Propitiate your divinity. No altar surely
is more familiar to you than this. That altar never
permits the supplications of its priest to be in vain :
seek from it succour for my fate. No matter how
slight the breeze with which it aids me, my bark
now o'erwhelmed will rise once more from the midst
of the waters. Then will I offer to the devouring
flames holy incense bearing witness to the power of
the divinity. I will rear no temple of Parian marble
for thee, Germanicus ; that disaster tore away my
wealth ; temples will be built for thee and thine by
rich houses and cities ; Naso will show gratitude
with verse, his only wealth. Poor indeed, I con-
fess, is the gift that is rendered for great service,
if I give words in return for the grant of salvation.
But he who gives his utmost, is lavishly grateful and
that loyal service has reached its goal. The incense
offered by the poor man from his humble censer has
not less effect than that given from a huge platter.
The nursling lamb as well as the victim fed on
Faliscan grass dyes in sacrifice the Tarpeian altar.
Yet than the proffered tribute of poets* verse naught
else more befits the leaders of men. Verse heralds
abroad your praises and sees to it that the glory of
your deeds falls not to the ground. By verse virtue
lives on and, avoiding the tomb, becomes known to
late posterity. Wasting time consumes both steel
and stone ; no thing has a strength greater than that
4-51
OVID
scripta ferunt annos. scriptis Agamemnona nosti,
et quisquis contra vel simul arma tulit.
quis Thebas septemque duces sine carmine nosset,
et quicquid post haec, quidquid et ante fuit ?
55 di quoque carminibus, si fas est dicere, fiunt,
tantaque maiestas ore canentis eget.
siV Chaos ex ilia naturae mole prioris
digestum partes scimus habere suas :
sic adfectantes caelestia regna Gigantes
GO ad Styga nimbifero vindicis igne datos :
sic victor laudem supcratis Liber ab Indis,
Alcides capta traxit ab Oeehalia.
et modo, Caesar, avum, quern virtus addidit astris,
sacrarunt aliqua carmina parte tuum.
65 siquid adhuc igitur vivi, Germanice, nostro
restat in ingenio, servict omne tibi.
non poles officium vatis contemnere vates :
iudicio pretium res habet ista tuo.
quod nisi te nomen tantum ad maiora vocasset,
70 gloria Pieridum sunima luturus eras.
sed dare materiam nobis quam carmina mains :
nee tamcn ex toto deserere ilia poles.
n«im modo bella geris, mmieris modo verba coerces,
quodque aliis opus est, hoc tibi lusus erit.
75 utque nee ad citharam nee ad arcum segnis Apollo
est,
sed venit ad sacras nervus uterque manus,
sic tibi nee docti desunt nee principis artes,
rnixta sed est ariimo cum love Musa tuo.
quae quoniam nee nos unda summovit ab ilia,
80 ungula Gorgonci quam cava fecit equi,
1 Hercules. 2 Gernianirus dabblt'd in poetry.
8 Hippocrene (on Helicon), created by the hoof-beat of
Pegasus.
452
EX PONTO, IV. vin. 51-80
of time. But writing endures the years. Through
writing you know Agamemnon and everyone who
bore arms with him or against him. Who would
know of Thebes and the seven leaders, were it not
for verse, or of all that went before and after ? Even
the gods, if 'tis right to say this, are created by verse ;
their mighty majesty needs the bard's voice. By
this it is that we know that Chaos became separated
from that mass of earlier nature and took on his
divisions ; by this that the Giants aiming at the
sovereignty of heaven were hurled to the Styx by the
cloud-bearing thunderbolt of the avenger ; by this
that victorious Liber won renown from the conquering
of the Indies, Alcides1 from the capture of Oechalia.
And but now, O Caesar, thy grandsire, whom his
virtue has sent to the starry heaven, owed in some
measure his sanctity to verse. If there be still any
life, Gerrnanicus, in my genius, it shall wholly serve
thee. Thou canst not as a poet 2 despise the tribute
of a poet, for that has a value in thy judgment.
Wherefore if a great name had not called thee to
greater things, thou wert destined to be the supreme
glory of the Pierians. But 'tis a greater thing to
furnish themes for us than thyself to compose ; yet
verse thou canst not wholly leave neglected. Now
thou art waging war, now to numbers thou art con-
fining words ; what is toil for others will for thee be
play. Just as Apollo is no sluggard either with lyre
or bow but either string is obedient to his sacred
hands, so thou lackcst the arts neither of the scholar
nor the prince, but in thy mind the Muse and Jupiter
are wedded. And since the Muse has not removed
me from that spring 3 which the hollow hoof of the
Gorgonean steed created, may it profit me and aid
453
OVID
prosit opemque ferat communia sacra tueri,
atque isdem studiis inposuisse manum :
litora pellitis nimium subiecta Corallis
ut tandem saevos effugiamque Getas :
85 clausaque si misero patria est, ut ponar in ullo,1
qui minus Ausonia distet2 ab urbe, loco,
unde tuas possim laudes celebrare recentes
magnaque quam minima facta referre mora.
tangat ut hoc votum caelestia, care Suilli,
90 numina, pro socero paene precare tuo.
IX.
Unde licet, non unde iuvat, Graecine, salutem
mittit ab Euxinis hanc tibi Naso vadis,
missaque di faciant Auroram occurrat ad illam,
bis senos fasces quae tibi prima dabit :
5 ut, quoniam sine me tanges Capitolia consul
ct fiam turbae pars ego nulla tuae,
in domini subeat partes et praestet amici
officium iusso littera nostra die.
atque ego si fatis genitus melioribus essem
10 et mea sincero curreret axe rota,
quo mine nostra manus per scriptum fungitur, esset
lingua salutandi munere functa tui,
gratatusque darem cum dulcibus oscula verbis,
nee minus ille meus quam tuus esset honor.
16 ilia, confiteor, sic essem luce superbus,
ut caperet fastus vix domus ulla meos :
dumque latus sancti cingit tibi turba senatus,
consulis ante pedes ire iuberer eques ;
1 illo : ullo c 2 distat : distet r
1 The consulship.
4-54
EX PONTO, IV. vin. 81— ix. 18
me that I maintain the same rites as thyself, that
I have set my hand to the same pursuit. This shore
all too exposed to the skin-clad Cor alii and the savage
Getae — may I at last escape it ; and if my country is
closed against such a wretch, may I be set in any
place less distant than this from the Ausonian city,
whence I can celebrate thy fresh praises and relate
thy mighty deeds with least delay.
89 That this petition, dear Suillius, may touch the
heavenly powers, utter a prayer for him who is all
but the father of thy wife.
IX. To GRAECINUS
Whence he may, not whence he would, Graecinus,
this greeting Naso sends you from the Euxine waters.
'Tis sent, and the gods grant that it may come to
you on that dawn which shall first bring to you the
twice six fasces. For since without my presence you
will reach the Capitol as consul, and I shall form no
part of your retinue, let my missive take its master's
place and bestow the homage of a friend on the
appointed day. Had I been born with a better fate,
did my wheels run on a true axle, that duty of
greeting which my hand now performs in writing
my tongue would have performed ; and along with
pleasant words of congratulation I should give you
kisses, nor would that honour l be less mine than yours.
On that day, I confess, I should be so proud that
scarce any house would contain my haughtiness
While the throng of holy senators surrounded you,
I as a knight would be bidden to go before you, and
455
OVID
et quamquam cuperem semper tibi proximus esse,
20 gauderem lateris non habuis.se locum,
nee querulus, turba quam vis eliderer, essem :
sed foret a populo turn mihi dulce premi.
aspicerem gaudens, quantus foret agminis ordo,
densaque quam longum turba teneret iter.
25 quoque magis noris, quam me vulgaria tangant,
spectarem, qualis purpura te tegeret.
signa quoque in sella nossem formata curuli
et totum Numidae sculptile dentis opus,
at cum Tarpeias esses deductus in arces,
30 dum caderet iussu victima sacra tuo,
me quoque secreto grates sibi magnus agentem
audisset media qui sedet aede deus ;
turaque mente rnagis plena quam lance dedisscm,
ter quater imperii laetus honore tui.
35 hie ego praesentes inter numerarer arnicos,
mitia ius urbis ] si modo fata darent,
quaeque mihi sola capitur nunc mente voluptas,
tune oculis etiam percipienda foret.
non ita caelitibus visum est, et forsitan aequis :
40 nam quid me poenae causa negata in vet ?
mente tamen, quae sola loco non exulat, utar,
praetextam fasces aspiciamque tuos.
liaec modo te populo reddentem iura videbit,
et se secreto 2 finget adesse tuis :
4=5 nunc longi reditus hastae supponere lustri
credet, et exacta cuncta locare fide :
nunc facere in medio facundum verba senatu,
publica quaerentem quid petat utilitas :
1 verbis vel si nobis ius corr. Itali
2 seoretis corr&r/, cf. v. 31
1 Sec Ex P. iv. 5. 19 note.
456
EX PONTO, IV. ix. 19-48
though I should be very eager to be always near you,
I should rejoice to have no place at your side. Nor
should I complain, though I were bruised by the
crowd ; at such time 'twere pleasant to feel the crush
of the populace. I should behold with joy the long
line of the procession and the dense throng on its
long route. And that you may know how trivial
things interest me — 1 should examine the texture of
your mantling purple. I should inspect even the
outline of the figures on your curule chair — all the
carved work of Nurnidian ivory. And after you had
been escorted to the Tarpeian rock, while the con-
secrated victim was falling at your command, me
also as I rendered him thanks in secret would the
mighty god have heard who is enthroned in the
middle of the temple. I would have offered incense
with full heart rather than a full censer, thrice and
four times rejoicing in your sovereign honour. There
should 1 be counted among your attending friends if
only kindly fate granted me of right to be present
in the city, and the pleasure which now only my
mind can catch would then be wholly grasped by my
eyes also.
30 Not so have the gods decided, and perhaps they
are just. For how can the denial of the cause of my
punishment aid me ? Yet will I use my mind, which
alone is not exiled, to behold your robe and fasces.
This shall see you now dispensing justice to the
people, and shall fancy itself present unseen at your
actions ; now it shall believe that you are bringing
beneath the spear1 the revenues of the long lustrum
and contracting for everything \Nith minute good
faith ; now that you are uttering eloquent words
before the senate, seeking what the interest of the
457
OVID
mine pro Caesaribus superis decernere grates,
60 albave opimorum colla ferire bourn.
atque utinam, cum iam fueris potiora precatus,
ut mihi placetur principis ira roges !
surgat ad hanc vocem plena plus ignis ab ara,
detque bonum voto lucidus omen apex.
55 interea, qua parte licet, ne cuncta queramur,
hie quoque te festum consule tempus agam.
altera laetitiae est nee cedens causa priori,
successor tanti frater honoris erit.
nam tibi finitum summo, Graecine, Decembri
60 imperium lani suscipit ille die.
quaeque est in vobis pietas, alterna feretis
gaudia, tu fratris fascibus, ille tuis.
sic tu bis fueris consul, bis consul et ille,
inque domo binus conspicietur honor.
65 qui quamquam est ingens, et nullum Martia summo
altius imperium consule Roma videt,
multiplicat tamen hunc gravitas auctoris honorem,
et maiestatem res data dantis habet.
iudiciis igitur liceat Flaccoque tibique
70 talibus Augusti tempus in omne frui.
quod 1 tamen ab rerum cura propiore vacabit,
vota precor votis addite vestra meis.
et si quern dabit aura sinum, laxate rudentes,
exeat e Stygiis ut mea navis aquis.
75 praefuit his, Graecine, locis modo Flaccus, et illo
ripa ferox Histri sub duce tuta fuit.
hie tenuit Mysas gentes in pace fideli,
hie arcu fisos terruit ense Getas.
1 quod] cum vel ut
458
EX PONTO, IV. ix. 49-78
state demands ; now that you are proposing thanks
on behalf of the godlike Caesars, or smiting for them
the white throats of choice oxen. Would that, when
you have finished your prayer for more important
things, you might ask on my behalf the assuage-
ment of an emperor's wrath ! At your words may
the holy fire spring up from the full altar and a bright
tongue of flame offer a good omen for the prayer.
55 Meanwhile so far as I may — let me not complain
of everything — even here I will have a festival for
your consulship. There is a second cause for joy
that yields not to the first ; your brother will follow
you in so great an honour. For the power which is
ended for you with late December he assumes on
Janus's day.1 Such is the affection of you twain that
you will receive mutual joy, you in his office and he
in yours. Thus you will be twice consul, he twice
consul ; a double honour will be seen in your house-
hold.
65 Though mighty the honour and Martian Rome
sees no loftier power than that of the supreme consul,
yet it is multiplied by the dignity of its sponsor and the
gift possesses all the majesty of the giver. There-
fore may it be your lot and that of Flaccus to enjoy
for all time such verdicts of Augustus. But in his
leisure from the more pressing cares of state add both
your prayers, I beseech you, to mine, and if the breeze
shall belly any sail, loosen the cables that my bark
may set forth from the Stygian waters. The com-
mander of this region, Graecinus, was till recently
Flaccus, under whose charge the turbulent banks of
the Hister were safe. He held the Mysian tribes to
loyal peace, he cowed with his sword the Getae who
1 January 1st.
459
OVID
hie rap tarn Troesmin 1 celeri virtute recepit,
80 infecitque fero sanguine Danuvium.
quaere loci faciem Scythicique incommoda caeli,
et quam vicino terrear hoste roga :
sintne litae tenues serpentis felle sagittae,
fiat an humanum victima dira caput :
85 mentiar, an coeat duratus frigore Pontus,
et teneat glacies iugera multa freti.
haec ubi narrarit, quae sit mea fama require,
quoque modo peragam tempora dura roga.
nee sumus hie odio, nee scilicet esse meremur,
90 nee cum fortuna mens quoque versa mea est.
ilia quies animi, quam tu laudare solebas,
ille vetus soli to perstat in ore pudor.
sic ego sum longe, sic hie, ubi barbarus hostis,
ut fera plus valeant legibus arma, facit,
95 rem queat ut nullam tot iam, Graecine, per annos
femina de nobis virve puerve queri.
hoc facit ut misero faveant adsintque Tomitae :
haec quoniam tellus testificanda mihi est.
illi me, quia velle vident, discedere malunt :
100 respectu cupiunt hie tamen esse sui.
nee mihi credideris : extant decreta, quibus nos
laudat et inmunes publica cera facit.
conveniens miseris et quamquam gloria non est,2
proxima dant nobis oppida munus idem.
105 nee pietas ignota mea est : videt hospita terra
in nostra sacrum Caesaris esse domo.
stant pariter natusque pius coniunxque sacerdos,
numina iam facto non leviora deo.
1 troesenen etc. corr. Korn 2 sit
460
EX PONTO, IV. ix. 79-108
trust in the bow. He recovered with swift valour
captured Troesmis, dyeing the Danube with barbarian
blood. Question him about the face of this land, the
rigours of the Scythian climate ; ask him about the
terror that I suffer from the foe so close at hand —
whether the slender arrows are dipped in serpent's
gall, whether the human head becomes a hideous
offering ; whether I am a liar or the Pontus does
indeed freeze with the cold and ice covers many
acres of the sea. When he has told you these things,
then ask in what repute I am, how I pass my hours of
suffering. Here I am not hated, and indeed I do
not deserve to be, and my mind has not changed
along with my fate. That tranquillity which you
were wont to praise, that wonted modesty still abides
as of old upon my countenance. Such is my bearing
in this far land, where the barbarian foe causes cruel
arms to have more power than law, that 'tis impossible
now these many years, Graecinus, for woman or man
or child to make complaint of me. This it is which
brings me the kindly attentions of the Tomitae in my
wretchedness — since this land I must needs call as
witness. Because they see that it is my wish they
would like to have me depart ; yet for their own sake
are eager to have me remain. And trust not me for
this : there are extant upon the wax decrees praising
me and granting me immunity.1 And though 'tis
not fitting for the unfortunate to boast, the neigh-
bouring towns grant me the same favour. Nor is
my piety unknown : a strange land sees a shrine to
Caesar in my house. Beside him stand the pious son
and priestess wife,2 deities not less important than
himself now that he has become a god. To make the
1 i.e. from taxes. 2 Tiberius and Livia.
461
OVID
neu desit pars ulla domus, stat uterque nepotum,
110 hie aviae lateri proximus, ille patris.
his ego do totiens cum ture precantia verba,
Eoo quotiens surgit ab orbe dies,
tota, licet quaeras, hoc me non fingere dicet
officii testis Pontica terra mei.
115 Pontica me tellus, quantis hac possumus ara,1
natalem ludis scit celebrare dei.
nee minus hospitibus pietas est cognita talis,
misit in has siquos longa Propontis aquas,
is quoque, quo laevus 2 fuerat sub praeside Pontus,
120 audierit frater forsitan ista tuus.
fortuna est impar ammo, talique libenter
exiguas carpo munere pauper opes,
nee vestris damus haec oculis, procul urbe remoti :
contenti tacita sed pietate sumus.
125 et tamcn haec tangent aliquando Caesaris aures :
nil illi, toto quod fit in orbe, latet.
tu certe scis haec,3 superis ascite, videsque,
Caesar, ut est oculis subdita terra tins,
tu nostras audis inter convexa locatus
130 sidera, sollicito quas damus ore, preces.
perveniant istuc et carmina forsitan ilia,
quae de te misi caelite facta novo.
auguror his igitur flecti tua numina, nee tu
inmerito nomen mite Parentis habes.
X.
Haec mihi Cimmerio bis tertia ducitur aestas
litore pellitos inter agenda Getas.
1 ora 2 laetus a hoc
1 Germanicus and Drusus. 2 Tiberius.
EX PONTO, IV. ix. 109— x. 2
household group complete, both of the grandsons l
are there, one by the side of his grandmother, the
other by that of his father. To these I offer incense
and words of prayer as often as the day rises from the
east. The whole land of Pontus — you are free to
inquire — will say that I am not fabricating this and
will bear witness to my devotion. The land of Pontus
knows that on this altar I celebrate with what
festivals I can the birthday of the god, nor is such
service less known to whatsoever strangers the
distant Propontis sends to these waters. Even your
brother, who had charge of ill-omened Pontus, may
perhaps have heard of it. My means are unequal
to my wishes, but in such service gladly, though poor,
do I expend my scant resources. Nor do I bring all
these things before your eyes, far removed as I
am from the city, but I am content with an un-
spoken loyalty, and nevertheless this shall sometime
reach the ear of Caesar 2 from whom nothing which
occurs in the whole world is hidden. Thou at least
knowest this, O Caesar, now one with the gods, and
seest it, since now the world is placed beneath thine
eyes. Thou nearest from thy place among the stars
of heaven's vault the prayers of my anxious lips.
Perchance even those poems may reach thee there
which I have composed and sent about thee, a new
divinity. And so 1 prophesy that thy holy will is
yielding to these prayers, for not undeservedly hast
thou the gracious name of " Father."
X. To ALBINOVANUS
Now is the sixth summer wearing away which I
must pass on the Cimmerian shore among the skin-
OVID
ecquos tu silices, ecquod, carissime, ferrum
duritiae confers, Albinovane, meae ?
5 gutta cavat lapidem, consumitur anulus usu,
atteritur1 pressa vomer aduncus humo.
tempus edax igitur praeter nos omnia pcrdit :
cessat duritia mors quoque victa mea.
cxeinplum est animi nimium patientis Ulixes,
10 iactatus dubio per duo lustra mari :
tempora solliciti sed non tamen omnia fati
pertulit, et placidae saepe fuere morae.
an grave sex annis pulchram fovisse Calypso
aequoreaeque fuit concubuisse deae ?
15 excipit Hippotades, qui dat pro munere ventos,
curvet ut inpulsos utilis aura sinus,
nee bene cantantes labor est audire puellas :
nee degustanti lotos amara fuit.
lios ego, qui patriae faciant oblivia, sucos
20 parte meae vitae, si modo dentur, eniam.
nee tu contuleris urbem Laestrygonos umquam
gentibus, obliqua quas obit Hister aqua,
nee vincet Cyclops saevum feritatc Piaeehen.
qui quota terror is pars solet esse mei !
25 Scylla feris trunco quod latret ab inguinc monstris,
Heniochae nautis plus nocuere rates,
nee potes infestis conferre Chary bdin Achaeis,
ter licet epotum ter vomat ilia fretum.
qui quamquani dextra regionc licentius errant*
30 securum latus hoe non lam en esse sinunt.
hie agri infrondes, hie spieula tincta veneriis,
liic freta vel pediti pervia reddit hi ems,
1 et teritur corr. Heinftius
1 A lustrum was five years.
2 Aeolus. a The Sirens.
4-64-
EX PONTO, IV. x. 3-32
clad Getae. Can you compare any flint, Albinovanus,
any iron to my endurance ? Drops of water hollow
out a stone, a ring is worn thin by use, the hooked
plough is rubbed away by the soil's pressure. So
devouring time destroys all things but me : even
death keeps aloof defeated by my endurance. The
type of a heart suffering to excess is Ulysses, who was
tossed for two lustra1 on the perilous sea. Yet not
all his hours were hours of troubled fate, for oft came
intervals of peace. Or was it a hardship to fondle
for six years the fair Calypso and share the couch of a
goddess of the sea ? Hippotes' son 2 harboured him
and gave him the winds, that a favouring breeze
might fill and drive his sails. And 'tis not a sorrow to
hear maidens3 singing beautifully, nor was the lotos
bitter to one who tasted it. Such juices, which
cause forgetfulness of one's native land, I would
purchase, if only they were offered, at the price of half
my life. Nor could you compare the city of the
Laestrygonian with the tribes which the Hister
touches in its winding course. Cyclops will not
surpass in cruelty Piacches — and what mere fraction
of my dread is he wont to be ! Though Scylla's
misshapen loins may send forth the barkings of cruel
monsters, the Heniochian ships have done more harm
to mariners. You cannot compare Charybdis, though
she thrice drinks in, thrice spews forth the flood,
with the hostile Achaei who though they roam with
larger licence in the eastern lands, yet allow not
this shore to be safe. Here there are lands without
a leaf, here are darts dyed in poison, here the winter
makes even the sea a highway for one on foot, so
OVID
ut, qua remus iter pulsis modo fecerat undis,
siccus contempta nave viator eat.
35 qui veniunt istinc, vix vos ea credere dicunt.
quam miser est, qui fert asperiora fide !
crede tamen : nee te causas nescire sinemus,
horrida Sarmaticum cur mare duret hiems.
proxima sunt nobis plaustri praebentia formam
40 et quae praecipuum sidera frigus habent.
hinc oritur Boreas oraeque domesticus huic est
et sumit vires a propiore loco,
at Notus, adverso tepidum qui spirat ab axe,
est procul et rarus languidiorque venit.
45 adde quod hie clauso miseentur flumina Ponto,
vimque fretum rnulto perdit ab amne suam.
hue Lycus, hue Sagaris Peniusque Hypanisque Cales-
que
influit et crebro vertice tortus Halys,
Partheniusque rapax, et volvens saxa Cynapses
50 labitur, et nullo tardior amne Tyras,
et tu, femineae Thennodon cognite turmae,
et quondam Gratis Phasi petite viris,
cumque Borysthenio liquidissimus amne Dyrapses
et tacite peragens lene Melanthus iter,
55 quique duas terras, Asiam Cadmique sororem,
separat et cursus inter utramque facit,1
innumerique alii, quos inter maximus omnes
cedere Danuvius se tibi, Nile, negat.
copia tot laticum, quas auget, adulterat undas,
60 nee patitur vires aequor habere suas.
quin etiam, stagno similis pigraeque paludi,
caeruleus vix est diluiturque color.
1 vv. 55-56 fortassf spurii
1 Probably the Dun. 2 Europa.
EX PONTO, IV. x. 33-62
that where the oar had but just now beaten a way
through the waves, the traveller proceeds dry shod,
despising boats.
35 Those who come from your land report that you
scarce believe all this. How wretched is he who
endures what is too harsh for credence ! Yet believe
you must, nor shall I permit you to remain in ignor-
ance of the reason why dread winter freezes the
Sarmatian sea. Very near us are the stars having
the form of a wain, possessing extreme cold. Here
is the source of Boreas ; this coast is his home, and
he takes on strength from a place nearer to him.
On the other hand Notus, whose breath comes warm
from the opposite pole, is far away ; he comes but
rarely and without energy. Moreover, here the
rivers mingle in the landlocked Pontus, and the sea
loses its own power because of many a stream. Here
the Lycus, here the Sagaris, the Penius, the Hypanis,
the Cales flow in and the Halys twisting in many an
eddy, the destroying Parthenius, and the Cynapses
glides along tumbling his boulders, and the Tyras
inferior to no stream in swiftness, and thou, Ther-
modon, familiar to the bands of women, and thou,
Phasis, sought by Grecian heroes, and with the Borys-
thenes the clear Dyrapses, and the Melanthus,
quietly completing his gentle course, and the river l
which separates two lands, Asia and Cadmus's
sister,2 making its way between them, and countless
others of which mightiest of all the Danube refuses,
O Nile, to yield to thee. The wealth of so many
waters corrupts the waves which it augments, not
allowing the sea to keep its own strength. Nay, like
to a still pool or a stagnant swamp its colour is scarce
blue and is washed away. The fresh water floats
467
UV1U
innatat unda freto dulcis, leviorque marina est,
quae proprium mixto de sale pondus liabet.
65 si roget haec aliquis cur sint narrata Pedoni,
quidve loqui certis iuverit ista modis,
" detinui " dicam " curas tempusque fefelli.
hunc fruclum praesens attulit hora mihi.
afuimus solito, dum scribirnus ista, dolore,
70 in mediis nee nos sensimus esse Getis."
at tu, non dubito, cum Thesea carmine laudes,
materiae titulos quin tueare tuae,
quemque refers, imitere virum. vetat ille profecto
tranquilli comitem temporis esse fidem.
75 qui quamquam est factis ingens et conditur a te
vir tan to quanto debuit ore cani,
est tamen ex illo nobis imitabile quiddam,
inque fide Theseus quilibet esse potest.
non tibi sunt hostes ferro clavaque domandi,
80 per quos vix ulli pervius Isthmos erat :
sed praestandus amor, res non operosa volenti.
quis labor est puram non temerasse fidem ?
haec tibi, qui perstas l indeclinatus amico,
non est quod lingua dicta querente putes.
XL
Gallio, crimen erit vix excusabile nobis,
carmine te nomen non habuisse meo.
tu quoque enim, memini, caelesti cuspide facta
fovisti lacrimis vulnera nostra tuis.
1 praestas
1 The robbers on the Isthmus of Corinth whom Theseus
subdued.
468
EX PONTO, IV. x. 63— xi. 4
ipon the flood, being lighter than the sea-water
ivhich possesses weight of its own from the mixture
rf salt.
65 If somebody ask why I have told all this to Pedo,
what profit there has been in speaking so precisely,
[ would say, " I have given pause to my cares and
beguiled the time ; this is the profit the present hour
las brought me. I have gained release in writing
this from my accustomed grief and have lost the
feeling that I am among the Getae."
71 But you, I doubt not, since you are singing in
/erse the praises of Theseus, are doing honour to the
subject and imitating the hero whom you describe.
Surely he forbids fidelity to be the companion only
rf happy moments. His deeds are great and he is
lescribed by you in a vein grand enough for a hero,
yet there is one thing in him that we can imitate : in
fidelity anybody can be a Theseus. You do not have
to subdue with sword and club the foe 1 who rendered
the Isthmos scarce passable for anyone, but you must
make good your love, a thing not hard for one who
lias the wish. What trouble is it to refrain from
outraging unblemished fidelity ? You, who stand
unswervingly by your friend, must not think that
these words have been uttered by a complaining
tongue.
XI. To GALLIC
Gallio, it will be a sin which I can scarce palliate
f your name proves not to have found a place in my
ferse. For you too, I remember, when I was smitten
Dythe divine spear, bathed my wounds with your tears.
469
OVID
5 atque utinam rapti iactura laesus amici
sensisses ultra, quod querererc, nihil !
non ita dis placuit, qui te spoliare pudica
coniuge crudeles non habuere nefas.
nuntia nam luctus mihi nuper epistula venit,
10 lectaque cum lacrimis sunt tua damna meis.
sed neque solari prudentem stultior ausim,
verbaque doctorum nota referre tibi :
finitumque tuum, si non ratione, dolorem
ipsa iam pridem suspicor esse mora.
15 dum tua pervenit, dum littera nostra rccurrcns
tot maria ac terras permeat, annus abit.
temporis officium est solacia dicere certi,
dum dolor in cursu est et petit aeger opem.
at cum longa dies sedavit vulnera mentis,
20 intempestive qui mo vet l ilia, no vat.
adde quod (atque utinam verum tibi venerit omen !)
coniugio felix iam potes esse novo.
XII.
Quo minus in nostris ponaris, amice, libellis,
nominis efficitur condioione tin.
ast ego non alium prius hoc dignarer honore —
est aliquis nostrum si modo carmen honor.
5 lex pedis officio fortunaquc nominis obstat,
quaquc meos adeas est via nulla modos.
nam pudet in geminos ita nomen scindere versus,
desinat ut prior hoc incipiatque minor.
1 monet
1 Tuticanus can be got into elegiac verse in four ways, all
violent: (1) by dividing the name between two lines; by
scanning (2) Tutieanus or (3) Tiitiodnua or (4>) Tiltlcdnus.
470
EX PONTO, IV. xi. 5— xii. 8
And would that injured by the loss of your ravished
friend you had felt no further blow to stir lament.
Not so has it pleased the gods, for in their cruelty
they have not thought it wrong to despoil you of your
pure wife. I have but just received a letter which
told me your sorrow, and I read of your loss with
tears. But I should not venture in folly to console
one who is wiser than I, to repeat to you the familiar
words of the wise men ; your grief has been for some
time ended, I suppose, if not by reasoning, then by
the lapse of time. While your letter has been on its
way, while mine in answer is traversing so many lands
and seas, a year has passed. The service of consola-
tion belongs to a definite period while grief is still in
progress and the stricken one is seeking aid. But
after long time has quieted the soul's wounds, he
who touches them out of season, only reopens them.
Moreover — and may this omen be true when it
reaches you ! — you may already be happy through a
new marriage.
XII. To TUTICANUS
The bar, my friend, that prevents your finding a
place in my verse, is set up by the nature of your
name. For my part I should deem no other more
worthy of the honour — if only my verse involves any
honour. 'Tis my metre's law and your unfortunate
name that oppose the compliment, and there is no
method by which you can enter my rhythm. For I
should be ashamed to separate your name between
two lines,1 ending the first with a part and beginning
the second with another part, and I should be equally
OVID
et pudeat, si te, qua syllaba parte moratur,
10 artius adpellem Tuticanumque vocem.
nee l potes in versum Tuticani more venire,
fiat ut e longa syllaba prima brevis,
aut producatur,2 quae nunc correptius exit,
et sit porrecta longa secunda mora.
15 his ego si vitiis ausim corrumpere nomen,
ridear et merito pectus habere neger.
haec mihi causa fuit dilati muneris huius,
quod meus adiecto faenore reddet 3 amor,
teque canam quacumque nota, tibi carmina mittam,
20 paene mihi puero cognite paene puer,
perque tot annorum seriem, quot habemus uterque,
non mihi, quam fratri frater, amate minus,
tu bonus hortator, tu duxque comesque fuisti,
cum regerem tenera frena novella manu.
25 saepe ego correxi sub te censore libellos,
saepe tibi admonitu facta litura meo est,
dignarn Maeoniis Phaeacida condere chartis
cum te Pieriae perdocuere deae.
hie tenor, haec viridi concordia coepta iuventa
30 venit ad albentis inlabefacta comas.
quae nisi te moveant, duro tibi pectora ferro
esse vel invicto clausa adamante putem.
sed prius huic desint et bellum et frigora terrae,
invisus nobis quae duo Pontus habet,
35 et tepidus Boreas et sit praefrigidus Auster,
et possit fatum mollius esse meum,
quam tua sint lasso4 praecordia dura sodali.
hie cumulus nostris absit abestque mails.
1 nee] et vel non corr. <r
2 ut ducatur 8 reddit 4 lapso
1 Similarly Horace alludes to a town whose name resisted
metre (Sat. i. 5. 87), Lucilius to a festival (228 f. Marx), and
472
EX PONTO, IV. xn. 9-38
ishamed if, where a syllable is long, I should shorten
t and address you as Tuticanus. Nor can you enter
nto the verse as Tuticanus, so that the first long
iyllable is shortened ; or so that the second syllable,
vhich is now short, should be long by extending
ts time, If by such faults as these I should venture
,o distort your name, I should be laughed at and
;hey would say rightly that I had no taste.1
17 This was my reason for putting off this service, but
ny love shall render it with added interest, and I
will sing of you under some symbol or other ; I will
send you verses — you whom I knew when we were
ilmost boys, whom through the succession of all the
pears of our lives I have loved no less dearly than a
3rother. You gave me kindly encouragement, you
were my guide and comrade, whilst with youthful
hand I was guiding the novel reins. Often I revised
my work in deference to your criticism, often on your
advice I made erasures, while you the Pierian god-
desses taught to compose a Phaeacis 2 worthy of the
Maeonian pages. This constancy, this harmony of
tastes begun in the green of youth, has continued
unweakened to the time when our hair is white.
If this should not affect you, I should believe that
you had a heart encased in iron or unconquerable
adamant. But sooner would this land lack war and
cold — the two things which hated Pontus holds for
me — sooner would Boreas become warm and Auster
chilly, and my fate less harsh, than would your heart
be hard to your weary friend Let this final blow
be absent — and it is absent — from my woes.
Critias had trouble with " Alcibiades," c/. Bergk-Hiller-
Crusius, Anthol. lyr. fr. 5, p. 136.
8 An epic on the sojourn of Ulysses in Phaeacia.
4,73
OVID
tu modo per superos, quorum certissimus ille est,
40 quo tuus assidue principe crevit honor,
effice constant! profugum pietate tuendo,
ne sperata meam deserat aura ratem.
quid mandem, quaeris ? peream, nisi dicere vix est ;
si modo, qui periit, ille perire potest.
45 nee quid agam invenio, nee quid nolimve velimve,
nee satis utilitas est mihi nota mea.
crede mihi, miseros prudentia prima relinquit,
et sensus cum re consiliumque fugit.
ipse, precor, quaeras, qua sim tibi parte iuvandus,
50 quoque viam facias ad mea vota vado.
XIII.
O mihi non dubios inter memorande sodales,
qui quod es, id vere, Care, vocaris, ave !
unde saluteris, color hie tibi protinus index
et structura mei carminis esse potest.
5 non quia mirifica est, sed quod non publica certe est i
qualis enim cumque est, non latet esse meam.
ipse quoque, ut titulum chartae de fronte revellas,
quod sit opus, videor dicere posse, tuum.
quamlibet in multis positus noscere libellis,
10 perque observatas inveniere notas.
prodent auctorem vires, quas Hercule dignas
novimus atque illi, quern canis ipse,1 pares.
et mea Musa potest, proprio deprensa colore,
insignis vitiis forsitan esse suis.
16 tarn mala Thersiten prohibebat forrna latere,
quam pulchra Nireus conspiciendus erat.
1 ipse] esse
1 Carus> " dear." "
2 As Thersites was the ugliest, so Nireus was (after
Achilles) the most beautiful man in the Greek host at Troy.
474
EX PONTO, IV. xii. 39— xin. 16
39 Only do you — by the gods of whom He is most
trustworthy under whose lead your honour has steadily
increased — see to it by watching over an exile with
steadfast devotion that the breeze of hope does not
forsake my bark. What are my directions, you ask ?
May I die if it is not hard to say — if only he who is
already dead can die. I find nothing to do or to
wish or not wish, nor do I quite know what is to my
advantage. Believe me, foresight is the first thing
to abandon the wretched, and along with fortune
sense and reason flee. Seek in person, I beg you,
how you ought to aid me, and over what shallows you
may construct a way to accomplish my wishes.
XIII. To CARUS
To you who must be counted among my undoubted
friends — to you who arc in very truth what you
are called, Carus,1 — greetings ! Whence comes this
salutation, the tone of this letter and the structure of
the verse can tell you, riot that it is excellent, but
'tis at least not commonplace ; for whatever be its
merit, 'tis clear to see that it is mine. I, too, though
you should tear the title from the head of your pages,
could tell, I think, what work is yours. No matter
how many the books among which you may be placed
you will be recognized, discovered by signs I have
observed. The author will be betrayed by the vigour
which we know to be worthy of Hercules and suited
to him of whom you yourself sing. My Muse too,
detected by her own complexion, can perhaps be
distinguished by her very blemishes. Ugliness pre-
vented Thersites from escaping notice as much as
beauty made Nireus conspicuous.2
475
OVID
nee te mirari, si sint vitiosa, decebit
carmina, quae faciam paene poeta Getes.
a ! pudet, et Getico scrips! sermone libellum,
20 structaque sunt nostris barbara vcrba modis :
et placui (gratare mihi) coepique poetae
inter inhumanos nomen habere Getas.
materiam quaeris ? laudes : de Caesare dixi.
adiuta est novitas numine nostra dei.
25 nam patris August! docui mortale fuisse
corpus, in aetherias numen abisse domos :
esse parem virtute patri, qui frena rogatus
saepe recusati ceperit imperii :
esse pudicarum te Vestam, Li via, rnatrum,
30 ambiguum nato dignior anne viro :
esse duos iuvenes, firm a adiumenta parcntis,
qui dederint animi pignora certa sui.
haec ubi non patria perlegi scripta Cainena,
venit et ad digitos ultima charta meos,
35 et caput et plenas omncs movere pharetras,
et longurn Getico murmur in ore fiat,
atque aliquis " scribas haec cum de Caesare," dixit
" Caesaris imperio restituendus eras."
ille quidem dixit : sed me iam, Care, nivali
40 sexta relegatum bruma sub axe videt.
carmina nil prosunt. nocuerunt carmina quondam,
primaque tarn miserae causa fuere fugae.
at tu, per studii communia foedera sacri,
per non vile tibi nomen amicitiae
45 (sic cap to Latiis Germanicus hoste catenis
materiam vestris adferat ingeniis :
1 Tiberius.
2 Drusus, the son, arid Germanicus, the nephew and
adopted son, of Tiberius.
476
EX PONTO, IV. xin. 17-46
17 Nor should you wonder if my verse prove faulty,
for I am almost a Getic poet. Ah ! it brings me
shame ! I have even written a poem in the Getic
tongue, setting barbarian words to our measures : I
even found favour — congratulate me ! — and began to
achieve among the uncivilized Getae the name of
poet. You ask my theme ? you would praise it : I
sang of Caesar. My novel attempt was aided by
the god's will. For I told how the body of father
Augustus was mortal, but his spirit had passed to the
abodes of heaven ; that equal in virtue to his father
was he l who, when importuned, accepted the guid-
ance of the empire which he had often refused ; that
thou, Livia, wert the Vesta of pure matrons, it is
uncertain whether more worthy of thy son or thy
husband ; that there were two sons,2 strong supports
of their father, who have given sure proofs of their
spirit.
33 When I read all this, written not in the language
of my native Muse, and the last page felt the touch
of my fingers, all moved their heads and their full
quivers, and there was a long murmur on the lips of
the Getae. And one of them said, " Since you write
this about Caesar, it were fitting that you be restored
by Caesar's command." He said this, yes, but,
Carus, already the sixth winter sees me banished
beneath the icy pole. My verse avails me naught ;
my verse once wrought me harm and was the first
cause of this wretched exile. But do you, by the
common pledges of our sacred calling, by the name
of friendship which is not cheap in your eyes — so
may Gerrnanicus lead the enemy captive in Latin
chains and provide a subject for your abilities ; so
477
OVID
sic valeant pueri, votum commune dec-rum,
quos laus formandos est tibi magna datos),
quanta potes, praebe nostrae momenta l saluti,
50 quae nisi mutato nulla futura loco est.
XIV.
Haec tibi mittuntur, quern sum modo carmine questus
non aptum numeris nomen habere meis,
in quibus, excepto quod adhuc utcumque valemus,
nil, me praeterea quod iuvet, invenies.
5 ipsa quoque est invisa salus, suntque ultima vota
quolibet ex istis scilicet ire locis.
nulla mini cura est, terra quo mittar 2 ab ista,
hac quia, quam video, gratior omnis erit.
in medias Syrtes, mediam mea vela Charybdin
10 mittite, praesenti dum careamus humo.
Styx quoque, si quid ea est, bene commutabitur
Histro,
siquid et inferius quam Styga mundus habet.
gramina cultus ager, frigus minus odit hirundo,
proxima Marticolis quam loca Naso Getis.
15 talia suscensent3 propter mihi verba Tomitae,
iraque carminibus publica mota meis.
ergo ego cessabo numquam per carmina laedi,
plectar et incauto semper ab ingenio ?
ergo ego, ne scribam, digitos incidere cunctor,
20 telaque adhuc demens, quae nocuere, sequor ?
ad veteres scopulos iterum devertor4 et illas,
in quibus offendit naufraga puppis, aquas ?
1 monimenta corr. f 2 muter
* succensent 4 devertar
1 Probably the sons of Germanicus. a Ex P. iv. 12.
478
EX PONTO, IV. XITI. 47— xiv. 22
may the youths 1 be well, the source of universal
prayers to the gods, whose training to your great
praise has been made your trust— do you to your
utmost power advance that weal of mine which I
shall never have, unless the place be changed.
XIV. To TUTICANUS
These words are sent to you whose name but
recently I complained in verse 2 was not suited to my
metre : here — except that I am still in some sort
well — you will find nothing else that brings me
pleasure. My very health is hateful to me, and 'tis
my final prayer to go anywhere, be it only from this
place. I care not whither I am sent from such a
land, because any land will please me better than
this upon which I look. Cause me to sail to the
midst of the Syrtes, or Charybdis, provided I escape
this present soil. Even the Styx, if such thing there
be, will be well exchanged for the Hister, or what-*
ever the world has that is lower than the Styx. The
tilled field feels less hate for the grass, the swallow
for the cold, than Naso hates the region near the
war-loving Getae.
15 For such words the anger of the Tomitae rises
against me, the wrath of the town is stirred by my
verse. Shall I then never cease to be injured by verse,
shall I always suffer from my indiscreet talent ? Do I
then hesitate to cut my fingers that I may not write,
do I still in madness trail after the weapons which
have harmed me ? Am I being driven once more
upon the old reef and into those waters in which my
479
OVID
sed nihil admisi, nulla est mea culpa, Tomitae,
quos ego, cum loca sim vestra perosus, amo.
25 quilibet excutiat nostri monimenta laboris :
littera de vobis est mea questa nihil.
frigus et incursus omni de parte timendos
et quod pulsetur murus ab hoste queror.
in loca, non homines, verissima crimina dixi.
30 culpatis vestrum vos quoque saepe solum.
esset perpetuo sua quam vitabilis Ascra,
ausa est agricolae Musa docere senis :
et fuerat genitus terra, qui scripsit, in ilia,
intumuit vati nee tarn en Ascra suo.
35 quis patriam sollerte magis dilexit Ulixe ?
hoc tamen asperitas indice docta l loci est.
non loca, sed mores scriptis vexavit ainaris
Scepsius Ausonios, actaque Roma rea est :
falsa tamen passa est aequa convicia mente,
40 obfuit auctori nee fera lingua suo.
at malus interpres populi mihi concitat iram
inque novum crimen carmina nostra vocat.
tarn felix utinam quam pectore candidus esscm !
extat adhuc nemo saucius ore meo.
45 adde quod Illyrica si iam pice nigrior essem,
non mordenda mihi turba ndelis erat.
molliter a vobis mea sors excepta, Tomitae,
tarn mites Graios indicat esse viros.
gens mea Paeligni regioque domestica Sulmo
60 non potuit nostris lenior esse malis.
quern vix incolumi cuiquam salvoque daretis,
is datus a vobis est mihi nuper honor.
1 dicta nota G~
1 Hesiod. 2 Metrodorus.
8 Niger means here *' slanderous." 4 i.e. unexiled.
480
EX PONTO, IV. xiv. 23-52
bark was wrecked ? But I have committed no crime,
1 am not at fault, Tomitae, for you I esteem, though
1 detest your land. Let anyone you will examine
the memorials of my toil, my letters have uttered no
complaints about you. Of the cold, of the raids to
be feared from every side, of the assaults by the
enemy upon the wall I complain. Against the land,
not the people, I have uttered true charges ; even
you often criticize your own soil. How his own
Ascra was constantly to be avoided the old farmer
poet 1 dared to sing, and he who wrote had been
born in that land, yet Ascra grew not angry with her
bard. Who loved his native land more than the
wily Ulysses ? Yet its roughness has been learned
through his own evidence. Not the land, but the
ways of Ausonia were attacked in bitter writing by
the Scepsian,2 and Rome was indicted, yet she bore
the false abuse calmly, and the author's wild tongue
did him no harm. But against me a perverse inter-
preter rouses the popular wrath, bringing a new
charge against my verse. Would I were as happy
as my heart is clean ! Nobody to this day lives whom
my lips have wounded. And besides if I were now
blacker3 than Illyrian tar, a loyal people would not
be attacked by me. Your gentle harbouring of my
fate, Tomitae, shows how kindly are men of Grecian
stock. My own people, the Paeligni, my home
country of Sulmo could not have been gentler to my
woes. An honour which you would scarcely grant
to one who was without blemish 4 and secure, that
you have recently granted to me : I am as yet the
2 1 481
OVID
solus adhuc ego sum vestris inmunis in oris,
exceptis, siqui munera legis habent.
65 tempora sacrata mea sunt velata corona,
publicus invito quam favor inposuit.
quam grata est igitur Latonae Delia tellus,
erranti tutum quae dedit una locum,
tarn mihi cara Tomis, patria quae sede fugatis
60 tempus ad hoc nobis hospita fida manet.
di modo fecissent, placidae spem posset babere
pads, et a gelido longius axe foret.
XV.
Siquis adhuc usquam nostri non inmemor extat,
quidve relegatus Naso, requirit, agam :
Caesaribus vitam, Sexto debere salutern
me sciat. a superis hie mihi primus crit.
5 tempora nam miserae complectar ut omnia vitae,
a meritis eius pars mihi nulla vacat.
quae numero tot sunt, quot in horto fertilis arvi
Punica sub lento cortice graria rubent,
Africa quot segetes, quot Tmolia terra racemos,
10 quot Sicyon bacas, quot parit Hybla favos.
confiteor : testere licet, signate Quirites !
nil opus est legum viribus, ipse loquor.
inter opes et me, parvam rein, pone paternas :
pars ego sum census quantulacumque tui.
15 quam tua Trinacria est regnataque terra Philippe,
quam domus Augusto continuata foro,
1 i.e. from taxes. It is not known who were exempted
besides Ovid or what imposts are meant.
2 Lydia. 3 Sicilian.
* i.e. in Macedonia.
482
EX PONTO, IV. xiv. 53— xv. 16
only one immune l upon your shores, those only
excepted who have the boon by law. My brow has
been veiled with a sacred chaplet which the popular
favour placed there all against my will. Wherefore
dear as is to Latona the land of Delos, which alone
offered her a safe place in her wandering, so dear is
Tomis to me ; to me exiled from my native abode it
remains hospitable and loyal to the present time.
Would that the gods had only made it possible for
it to have the hope of calm peace and to be farther
away from the icy pole !
XV. To SEXTUS POMPEIUS
If there be still anywhere one who has not for-
gotten me or who asks how exiled Naso fares, let him
know that I owe my life to the Caesars, my well-
being to Sextus. After those above he in my eyes
shall stand first. For though I should include all the
hours of my wrretched life, none is lacking in services
from him. These are as many as in the orchard of a
fertile farm are the seeds of the pomegranate, red
beneath their slow-growing husk, as the grain of
Africa, as the grape clusters of the Tmolian land,2
as the olives of Sicyon, or the honey-cells of Hybla.
This is my confession ; you may witness it ; put
your seal upon it, Quirites. It needs not the force
of the law ; I myself declare it. Set me too, an
humble chattel, amongst your inherited wealth ; I
am a part, no matter how small, of your estate. As
Trinacrian 3 lands are yours or those once ruled over
by Philip,4 as the home next the forum of Augustus,
483
OVID
quam tua, rus oculis domini, Campania, gratum,
quaeque relicta tibi, Sexte, vel empta tenes :
tarn tuus en ego sum, cuius te munere tristi
20 non potes in Ponto dicer e habere nihil.
atque utinam possis, et detur amicius arvum,
remque tuam ponas in meliore loco !
quod quoniam in dis est, tempta lenire precando
numina, perpetua quae pietate colis.
25 erroris nam tu vix est discernere nostri
sis argumentum maius an auxilium.
nee dubitans oro : sed flumine saepe secundo
augetur remis cursus euntis aquae,
et pudet et metuo semperque eademque precari,
30 ne subeant animo taedia iusta tuo.
verum quid faciam ? res inmoderata cupido est.
da veniam vitio, mitis amice, meo.
scribere saepe aliud cupiens delabor eodem :
ipsa locum per se littera nostra rogat.
35 seu tamen effectus habitura est gratia, seu me
dura iubet gelido Parca sub axe mori,
semper inoblita repetam tua munera mente,
et mea me tellus audiet esse tuum.
audiet et caelo posita est quaecumque sub ullo
40 (transit nostra feros si modo Musa Getas)
teque meae causam servatoremque salutis,
meque tuum libra norit et aere minus.
XVI.
Invide, quid laceras Nasonis carmina rapti ?
non solet ingeniis summa nocere dies,
1 Apparently Pompey could prove (argumentum) thi
" error " which Ovid regarded as the beginning of all his woe
484-
EX PONTO, IV. xv. 17— xvi. 2
as your Campanian lands, an estate dear to your
eyes, or whatever you hold by inheritance, Sextus,
or by purchase, so am I yours, and by reason of this
sad gift you cannot say that you own naught in the
Pontus. Would that you could and that a more
pleasant estate might be given you, that you might
establish your property in a better place ! Since this
rests with the gods, try to soften by prayer those
deities whom you worship with constant devotion.
For 'tis hard to distinguish whether you are more the
proof of my mistake or the relief.1
27 Nor do I plead because I doubt ; but oft adown
the stream the oars hasten the voyage over the flowing
waters. I feel shame and apprehension always to be
making the same request, lest your heart grow justly
weary. But what am I to do ? My desire is
measureless. Pardon my fault, gentle friend.
Though I often wish to write in a different vein, I
pass imperceptibly to the same theme ; my very
letters of their own accord seek the opportunity.
Yet whether your influence shall win its end or
whether a cruel fate bids me die beneath the freezing
pole, I shall always recall your services with un-
forgetting heart and my land shall hear that I belong
to you. It shall be heard by every land under any
sky — if only my Muse passes the confines of the wild
Getae — that you are the cause and saviour of my
weal ; that I am yours almost as if the scales and
bronze had bought me.
XVI. To AN ENEMY
Jealous man, why do you wound the verse of
ravished Naso ? The final day is not wont to injure
485
OVID
famaque post cineres maior venit. et mihi nomen
turn quoque, cum vivis adnumerarer, erat :
5 cumque foret Marsus magnique Rabinus oris
Iliacusque Macer sidereusque Pedo ;
et, qui lunonem laesisset in Hercule, Carus,
lunonis si iam non gener ille foret ;
quique dedit Latio carmen regale Severus,
10 et cum subtili Priscus uterque Numa ;
quique vel imparibus numeris, Montane, vel aequis
sufficis, et gemino carmine nomen babes ;
et qui Penelopae rescribere iussit Ulixen
errantem saevo per duo lustra mari,
15 quique suam Troesmin l imperfectumque dierum
deseruit celeri morte Sabinus opus ;
ingeniique sui dictus cognomine Largus,
Gallica qui Phrygium duxit in arva senem ;
quique canit domito Camerinus ab Hectore Troiam :
20 quique sua nomen Phyllide Tuscus habet ;
velivolique maris vates, cui credere posses
carmina caeruleos composuisse deos ;
quique acies Libycas Romanaque proelia dixit ;
et Marius scripti dexter in omne genus ;
25 Trinacriusque suae Perseidos auctor, et auctor
Tantalidae reducis Tyndaridosque Lupus ;
et qui Maeoniam Phaeacida 2 vertit, et une 3
Pindaricae fidicen tu quoque, Rufe, lyrae ;
Musaque Turrani tragicis innixa cothurnis ;
30 et tua cum socco Musa, Melisse, levi 4 ;
1 trisonem vel troadem vel troezen etc. corr. Ehwald
8 ecateida vel aeacida
8 uni vel una
4 levis
486
EX PONTO, IV. xvi. 3-30
genius, and fame is greater after one is ashes. I too
had a name even at the time when I was counted
with the living, when Marsus1 lived and Rabirius
of the mighty voice, the Ilian Macer, and Pedo
towering to the stars, and Carus, who in his Hercules
had angered Juno if that hero were not already Juno's
son-in-law ; and he who gave to Latium a regal
poem, Severus, and both Prisci together with tasteful
Numa ; and thou, Montanus, master of metres
whether even or uneven, whose fame rests upon two
kinds of verse, and he who bade Ulysses write home
to Penelope as he wandered for two lustra over
the savage sea, Sabinus, who in untimely death
abandoned his Troesmis,2 the uncompleted work of
many days ; Largus, called by the surname of his own
genius, who guided the aged Phrygian to the fields
of Gaul ; and Camerinus who sings of Troy after the
vanquishing of Hector ; and Tuscus, renowned for
his Phyllis ; the bard 3 of the sail-covered sea, whose
verse one might believe composed by the sea-
coloured gods ; and he who sang of the armies of
Libya and Rome's battles ; and Marius, skilled in
every style of composition, and Trinacrius who wrote
of the Perseid he knew so well, and Lupus, author of
the homecoming of Tyndarus's daughter with the
scion of Tantalus ; and he 4 who translated the
Maeonian Pkaeacis, and thou too, Rufus, unique
player on Pindar's lyre ; and Turranius's Muse
wearing the tragic buskin, and thine, Melissus, with
1 For information concerning the poets in this long list
see Index.
a Possibly an epic on the recovery of Troesmis, cf. iv. 9. 79.
See Index.
8 The poets alluded to in vv. 21-26 are otherwise unknown.
4 Probably Tuticanus (Index).
487
OVID
cum Varius Graccusque darent fera dicta tyrannis,
Callimachi Proculus molle teneret iter,
Tityron antiquas Passerque rediret 1 ad herbas
aptaque venanti Grattius arma daret ;
35 Naidas a Satyris caneret Fontanus amatas,
clauderet imparibus verba Capella modis ;
cumque forent alii, quorum mihi cuncta referre
nomina longa mora est, carmina vulgus habet ;
essent et iuvenes, quorum quod inedita cura 2 est,
40 adpellandorum nil mihi iuris adest
(te tamen in turba non ausim, Cotta, silcre,
Pieridum lumen praesidiumque fori,
maternos Cottas cui Messallasque paternos,
Maximc,3 nobilitas ingeminata dedit)
45 dicere si fas est, claro mea nomine Musa
atque inter tantos quae legeretur erat.
ergo summotum patria proscindere, Livor,
desine, neu cineres sparge, cruente, meos.
omnia perdidimus : tantummodo vita relicta est,
50 praebeat ut sensum materiamque mali.
quid iuvat extinctos ferrum demittere 4 in artus ?
non habet in nobis iam nova plaga locum.
J Passerque rediret] et erat qui pasceret herbas
8 causa : cura r 8 maxima
4 dimittere corr. Itali
488
EX PONTO, IV. xvi. 31-52
her light slippers. While Varius and Graccus
furnished cruel words to tyrants, Proculus followed
the tender path of Callimachus, Passer1 returned to
Tityrus and the familiar meadows, and Grattius
supplied weapons suited to the hunter ; while
Fontanus sang of Naiads beloved by Satyrs, while
Capella prisoned words in unequal measures ; and
while there were others all of whose names it were
long for me to mention, whose songs the people
possess ; while there were youths also whose work
unpublished gives me no right to name them — yet
amid the throng, of thee, Cotta Maximus, I should
not venture to be silent, light of the Pierians and
guardian of the forum, to whom a twofold noble
lineage has given on thy mother's side the Cottas, on
the father's the Messallas — my Muse was famed, if
'tis right to speak thus, and she was one who was
read among so many of the great.
47 So, Malice, cease to tear one banished from his
country ; scatter not my ashes, cruel one ! I have
lost all ; life alone remains, to give me the conscious-
ness and the substance of sorrow. What pleasure to
thee to drive the steel into limbs already dead ?
There is no space in me now for a new wound.
1 Line 33 has been much emended. I have followed
Nemethy who retains the reading of the best MSS. and
takes Passer as a poet's name.
489
INDEX
The references are to lines of the Latin text. T. =Tristia ; P. =Ex Ponto ;
fl. = floruit, "flourished"; c.— circa, "about,"; b. =born; t=died;
n. = riote. The citations are complete except where etc. is added.]
Absyrtus. Medea's brother, T. iii.
9.6
Abydos, a town on the Dardanelles,
T. i. 10. 28
Accius (Lucius), a Roman poet,
noted especially for tragedy.
Only a few fragments are extant.
Born c. 170 B.C. T. ii. 359
Achaei, a wild tribe dwelling near
the Pontus, P. iv. 10. 27
Achaemenides, a companion of
Ulysses left behind in Sicily,
later rescued by Aeneas, P. ii. 2. 25
Achilles, son of Peleus and grand-
son of Aeacus, greatest warrior
among the Greeks who besieged
Troy. He quarrelled with Aga-
memnon who had forced him
to give up Briseis of Lyrnesua,
his favourite slave, but "allowed
his friend Patroclus to wear his
armour and tight the Tiojans.
He slew Hector to avenge Patro-
clus, but yielded his body to
King Priam for burial. Achilles
was slain by an arrow which
Apollo guided from Paris' bow.
T. i. 1. 100, etc.
Achivus, Achaean, i.e. Grecian, P.
\. 4. 33
A con tins, lover of Cydippe. He
wrote upon an apple "I swear
by Artemis to wed Aeon tins."
Cydippe picked up the apple,
read the words, and was bound
by the oath. T. iii. 10. 73
Actaeon. See T. ii. 105 f.
Actaeus, Attic, P. iv. 1. 31
Actoridea, grandson of Actor. See
Patroclus
Admetus. See Alcestis
Adrastus, king of Argos, P. i.
3. 79
Aeacides, grandson of Aeacus, i.e.
Achilles
Aeetes, father of Medea. See Medea
Aegaeus, the sea between Greece
and Asia Minor— as far south as
Crete
Aegides, son of Aegeus, i.e. Theseus
Aegisos, a Moesian town (now
Tuldza) above the delta of the
Danube, P. i. 8. 13 ; iv. 7. 21, 53
Aegisthus. See Clytaemestra
Aegyptus. See Danaides
Aeneades, descendant of Aeneas,
a name applied to members of
the Julian family, especially to
Augustus, P. iii. 4. 84, etc.
Aeneas, son of Anchises and Venus.
He escaped from Troy with his
father and his son Ascanius
and settled in Latium. From
Ascanius (under the name of
lulus) the Julian family claimed
descent. T. i. 2. 7, etc.
Aeiieis, the Aeneid, Virgil's great
epic on Aeneas. T. ii. 633
Aeolus, son of Hippotes and lord of
the winds, T. i. 4. 17
Aerope, wife of Aireus. She was
violated by her brother-in-law
491
INDEX
Thyestes. When Atreus slew
Aerope together with Thyestes
and his children, the sun turned
aside in horror (T. ii. 392).
According to another story
Atreus slew Thyestes' children
and served them to him at a
feast. P. i. 2. 119
Aeson, father of Jason, P. i. 4.
23, 46
Aesonides, son of Aeson, i.e. Jason,
P. i. 4. 36
Aethahs, an adj. applied to Elba,
the Greek AleaArj, /'. ii. 3. 84
Aetna, the great volcano of Sicily,
T. v. 2. 75
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae,
leader of the Greeks at Troy.
See Cly taemestra, Orestes,
Achillei. T. v. 6. 25, etc.
Agenor. See Phineus
Agenorides, son of Agenor, i.e.
Cadmus, P. i. 8. 77
Agrius, father of Thersites, the
ugliest man among the Greeks
who besieged Troy, P. iii. 9. 9
Ajax, son of Telamon, the mightiest
Greek warrior at Troy save only
Achilles, P. iv. 7. 41
Albanus, "Alban," from Alba
Longa, a town on the Alban Mount
not far from Rome, founded by
Ascanius (lulus), P. i. 8. 67
Albinovanus, probably Albino-
vanus Pedo, a soldier, who
served with Germanicus in
Germany, and a poet be^t known
for epigrams (only one fragment
of his work is extant), P. iv. 10
Alcathous, son of Pelops and king
of Megara, T. i. 10. 39
Alcestis, wife of Admetus. She
consented to die in her husband's
stead, but was saved by Hercules.
T. v. 14. 87 ; P. iii. 1. 106
Alcides, Hercules — perhaps the
hero's earliest name
Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians.
He entertained Ulysses, and his
orchards were famous, P. iv.
2. 10
Alcmene. wife of Amphitryon. She
bore Hercules to Jupiter, who in
his suit of her had caused the
492
night to be doubled in length.
T. ii. 402
Alexandria, capital of Egypt,
founded by Alexander the Great,
T. i. 2. 79
Althaea, mother of Meleager. She
burned the brand on which de-
pended the life of her son because
he had slain her brother
Amazons, a race of female warriors,
P. iii. 1. 95
Amor (or Cupido), the god of love,
often represented as a winged
boy, T. v. 1. 22 ; P. iii. 8. 9 ft'., etc.
Amphiaraus, one of the seven
heroes who attacked Thebes.
The earth yawned apart and
engulfed him with his chariot.
P. iii. I. 52
Anacreon, a famous Greek lyric
poet of Teos, Ionia, fl. c. 509 B.C.;
numerous fragments, T. ii. 364
Anapus, a Sicilian river flowing
into the harbour of Syracuse,
P. ii. 10. 26
Anchialus, a Greek town on the
Thracian coast of the Black Sea,
south of Tomis, T. i. 10. 36
Anchises, father (by Venus) of
Aeneas, who bore him from
burning Troy upon his shoulders,
T. ii. 299 ; P. i. 1. 88
Andromache, daughter of Eetion,
king of Cilician Thebes ; wife of
Hector
Andromeda, daughter of Cepheus,
Ethiopian king; rescued by
Perseus from a dragon ; wife of
Perseus, T. ii. 401
Anser, an Augustan erotic poet.
T. ii. 435
Autenor, a Trojan noble, founder
of Padua, P. iv. 16. 18
Antigon^, daughter of Oedipus.
She performed burial rites for her
brother Polynices although King
Creon had forbidden it because
Polynices had attacked his native
city Thebes. T. iii. 8. 67
Antilochus, son of Nestor and the
closest friend (after Patroclus) of
Achilles, P. ii. 4. 22
Antimachus, an epic and elegiac
poet of Colophon (or Claros),
INDEX
fl. c. 400 B.C. His most famous
work, written to console himself
f>r the loss of his wife, was
the Lyde\ meagre fragments.
T. i. 6. 1
Antiphates, king of the Laestry-
gomans who ate human flesh,
P. ii. 2. 114, etc.
Autonius (Marcus), the triumvir,
defeated by Augustus at Actiuin,
P. i. 1. 23
Anytus, one of the accusers of
Socrates, T. v. 12. 12
Aonia, originally a district of
Boeotia next Phocis, then a
poetic term for all Boeotia.
Helicon and the Muses are often
called "Aonian," T. iv. 10. 89,
etc.
Apelles, the famous painter of Cos,
4th cent. B.C., who depicted
Venus wringing the sea water
from her hair, P. iv. 1. 29
Apollo (or Phoebus), god of the
sun, of poetry, etc., 7'. i. 2. r>, etc.
Appia (via), the first great Roman
road — from Rome to Capua, P . i.
8. 68
Aquilo, the Latin name for Boreas,
the north wind, T. i. 11. 19, etc.
Arctos, the Great Bear (Ursa
Maior), a constellation which
never sets, T. i. 2. 29, etc.
Arcturus, guardian of ths Bear, a
stormy constellation, P. ii. 7. 58
Arcthusa, a nymph beloved by the
river god Alpheus in Elis
Changed into a spring she was
pursued by the god beneath the
sea to Sicily. P. ii. 10. 27
Argo, Jason's ship, built by Athene's
aid, T. ii. 439
Argolicus, properly "Argive," but
a general term for "Greek," T. i.
9. 27, etc.
Aiiadne, daughter of Minos, king
of Crete. She aided Theseus to
penetrate the labyrinth and slay
the Minotaur, then fled with him
but was abandoned on the Isle
of T)ia and wedded by Bacchus.
The god placed her crown in
he wen as a constellation-
Ariadne's orowii, T. v. 3. 42
Aristaeus, son of Apollo, patron of
dairying, bee culture, etc., P. iv.
2. 9
Aristarchus, the famous Homeric
critic of Alexandria, 2nd cent.
B.C., P. Hi. 9. 24
Anstides (1) the famous Athenian
statesman, exiled 482 EC., P. i.
8. 71. (2) The author of the
Milesian Tales ; very meagre
fragments of Sisenna's Latin
translation survive, T. ii. 418,
443
Ars, Ovid's Ars amitoria (Art of
Love), See In trod. p. xix
A^cra, a Boeotian town, where
He^iod was born, P. iv. 14. 81
Atalanta (1) daughter of Schoeneus,
won by Hippomenes who defeated
her in a foot-race by the device
of rolling golden apples in her
path, T. ii. 399. (2) Daughter ot
Ta>os, an Arcadian huntress who
disdained love, but was won by
Milanion after many hardships
Athos, a lofty promontory of the
Macedonian Chalcidice, P. i. 5. 22
Atia (minor), aunt of Augustus and
wife of L. Marcius Philippus. P.
i. 2. 139
Atlantis, " Atlantian," an epithet
of the Great Bear because Calhsto
(the Great Bear) was descended
from Atlas, T. i. 11. 15
Atreus, father of Agamemnon and
Menelaus, P. i. 2. 119. See
Aerope
Atticus, a friend to whom Ovid
addresses P. ii. 4 and ii. 7 ;
otherwise unknown
Augustus, the Emperor Augustus
Caesar, T. i. 2. 102, etc. ; Ovid's
lost poem on A.'s apotheosis, P.
iv. 6 18, iv. 9. 181 ; Getic poem
on A., P. iv. 18. 19. See Introd.
p. xxviii. Tiberius also was called
Augustus, P. iv. 9. 70, etc.
Aurelia, wife of M. Valerius
Corvinus Messalla, P. ii. 3. 98
Ausonia, originally a Greek name
for the land of the Auruncl
(Auo-oj'e?) ; later a poetic term for
Latium or even Italy, T. i. 2.
92, etc.
493
INDEX
Auster, the south wind. See Notus.
T. i. 10. 33, etc.
Automedon, the charioteer of
Achilles, T. v. 6. 10
Axenus, "inhospitable," an adj.
applied to the Black Sea(Pontus),
T. iv. 4. 56
Babylon, P. ii. 4. 27
Bacche, a Bacchante, T. iv. 1. 41,
etc.
Bacchus (or Liber, Lyaeus, etc.),
god of the vine, poetry, etc., T.
i. 10. 38, etc.
Ball games, T. ii. 485
Bassus, an iambic poet, member of
Ov id's circle (T. iv. 10. 47) ; othei -
wiseunknown, although attempts
have been made to identify him
with Bassus (Propert. i. 4), 01
with Bassus (Seneca, Controllers.
x. Praefat. xii.)
Basternae, a German (or Celtic?)
people dwelling, in Ovid's time,
along the Danube from the
Carpathians to the Black Sea, T.
ii. 198
Bato, a Dalmatian chief who fought
against Home, A.D. 6-9. He
obtained immunity and was
allowed to live at Ravenna. P. 11.
1. 46
Battiades, "descendant of Battus,"
i.e. Callimachus, T. n. 367, etc.
Behdes, T. iii. 1 . 62. See Danaides
Bellerophon, entertained b)
Pioetus, king of Argos ; rejected
the advances of Stheneboea, his
hostess, who in ie\enge accused
him. The king gave him ovei
to lobates to slay, but the latter
not daring to slay him forced
him to tight the fire-breathing
Chimaera which he succeeded in
killing. T. n. 897
Bessi, a Thracian people d welling on
the Upper Hebi us, T. iii 10. 5, et r.
Birthday, Ovid's (at Tom is), £. in.
13 ; iv. 10. 11 ; his wife's, T. v. 5
Bistonii, a Thracian people of the
Aegean coast. Ovid uses the
name as equivalent to "Thraci-
aris '' ; adj. Bistonius, Bistonis.
T. i. 10. 23, etc.
494.
Bittis, the beloved, probably the
wife, of Philetas, T. i. (i. 2 ; P.
iii. 1. 58
Book, description of a Roman book,
T. i. 1. 1 ff. n., 106 if. ; iii. 1.
13ft'.
Bootes, Ox- Driver, the star which
"drives" the seven oxen of the
Wain (Great Bear), later called
Arcturus
Boreas, the north wind, adj. Boreus,
T. i. 2. 29, etc.
Borysthenes, a river flowing into
the Black Sea— the Dnieper, P.
iv. 10. 53
Bosporus, T. ii. 298 ; cf. ui. 4. 49
Briseis. Bee Achilles
Brutus, (1) M. Junms, one of the
leaders of the conspiracy against
Julius Caesar, and a writer on
philosophy and rhetoric, P. i. 1.
24 ; (2) A friend whom Ovid
addresses, P. i. 1, iii. 9, iv. 6. He
acted as Ovid's editor ; not other-
wise known. See Introd. p. xv
Busiris, an Egyptian king who
sacrificed strangers